Childhood Language Disorders in Context: Infancy Through Adolescence

Here is a comprehensive introduction to language disorders in children...one whose two-fold developmental/contextual perspective acknowledges that children's language learning systems include not only their skills, knowledge, and biological abilities...but also their language background, family settings, and the context in which they are attempting to learn language.

The text's primary focus is on perspectives from normal development, and the bulk of the coverage is devoted to examination of expectations for early (infant through toddler), middle (preschool through early elementary), and later (middle elementary through adolescent) stages of learning language. These developmentally-geared divisions are then used to guide discussions of language assessment and intervention for children who are not learning language normally, yet who have characteristics in common with their peers who are.

This is a MAJOR revision of the previous edition. The language has become more accessible to readers, and material has been updated and included throughout. Speech-language pathologists of all levels of experience will turn to this comprehensive overview of language disorders across the childhood years. This book provides readers with information, instructional goals, and strategies within a systems framework to guide treatment of language disorders from infancy through adolescence in the context of culture, family, home, school, and work. Topics include: language and communication; assessment and intervention; causes, categories, and characteristics; balancing ages and developmental stages; and more. New material on assessment and intervention in early, middle, and later stages as well as a full chapter on severe communication impairment are also included. An solid reference for new and practicing speech pathologists.