Early Bifrontal Brain Injury: Disturbances in Cognitive Function Development

in Neurology Research International (2010)

We describe six psychomotor, language, and neuropsychological sequential developmental evaluations in a boy who sustained a severe bifrontal traumatic brain injury (TBI) at 19 months of age. Visuospatial ... [more ▼]

We describe six psychomotor, language, and neuropsychological sequential developmental evaluations in a boy who sustained a severe bifrontal traumatic brain injury (TBI) at 19 months of age. Visuospatial, drawing, and writing skills failed to develop normally. Gradually increasing difficulties were noted in language leading to reading and spontaneous speech difficulties. The last two evaluations showed executive deficits in inhibition, flexibility, and working memory. Those executive abnormalities seemed to be involved in the other impairments. In conclusion, early frontal brain injury disorganizes the development of cognitive functions, and interactions exist between executive function and other cognitive functions during development. [less ▲]

L'influence de la fréquence d'occurrence sur l'abstraction des schémas de construction linguistiques chez les enfants dysphasiques

Poster (2009, December 04)

DISLOCATIONS AS DEVELOPMENTAL MARKERS IN THE FRENCH LANGUAGE : DEVELOPMENTAL AND PATHOLOGICAL STUDIES

Poster (2009, June 06)

Children with specific language impairment are impaired on implicit higher-order sequence learning, but not on implicit spatial context learning.

Poster (2009, June 05)

In a recent review of the SLI literature it has been suggested that low language and grammatical abilities would be directly associated with poor learning abilities of nonverbal sequences (Ullman ... [more ▼]

In a recent review of the SLI literature it has been suggested that low language and grammatical abilities would be directly associated with poor learning abilities of nonverbal sequences (Ullman & Pierpont, 2005; Tomblin et al., 2007). Therefore, one could hypothesize that a general purpose sequential pattern tracker could determine some aspects of language and grammar learning. In the present study, 15 children with SLI and 15 matched control children were compared on two implicit learning tasks: an alternating serial response time task in which sequential dependencies exist across non-adjacent elements, and a spatial context learning task in which the global configuration of a display cues the location of a searched target (Chun & Jiang, 1998). We predict that children with SLI will show impaired sequence learning and normal spatial context learning. By confirming the presence of a specific deficit in sequential learning processes, the present study should contribute to better understand the language abilities, and in particular the grammatical difficulties, of individuals with specific language impairment. [less ▲]

Les difficultés morphosyntaxiques des enfants présentant des troubles spécifiques du langage oral: une approche constructiviste

in Rééducation Orthophonique (2009), 238

The Construction and Usage-based Theory (CUT) combines two main approaches drawn from cognitive linguistics: construction grammar and usage-based theory. The CUT emphasizes the fact that language ... [more ▼]

The Construction and Usage-based Theory (CUT) combines two main approaches drawn from cognitive linguistics: construction grammar and usage-based theory. The CUT emphasizes the fact that language structures progressively emerge through the use of general cognitive processes. Most new forms produced by a child are built upon his/her own previous productions that he/she complexifies and generalizes to construct more abstract forms. These hypotheses have been tested with normally-developing children but have not yet been tested on children with specific language impairment (SLI). In this paper, we put forward several hypotheses drawn from constructivistic approaches to explain morphosyntactic difficulties displayed by children with SLI. Their goal is to create a theoretical framework for future behavioral studies. [less ▲]

Dysphasie : Limitation des capacités de traitement et compréhension d’énoncés

Poster (2009, May 14)

Problem Based Learning in SLT education : Apprentissage de la Démarche Logopédique (Learning of SLT approach)

Poster (2009, May)

Évaluation préliminaire d'un séminaire pilote mixte "médecine/orthophonie", préalable au développement d'un programme interprofessionnel en sciences de la santé

in Pédagogie Médicale (2009), 10(2), 105

Specific language impairment as systemic developmental disorders

in Journal of Neurolinguistics (2009), 22(2), 109-122

Specific Language Impairment (SLI) is a disorder characterised by slow, abnormal language development. Most children with this disorder do not present any other cognitive or neurological deficits. There ... [more ▼]

Specific Language Impairment (SLI) is a disorder characterised by slow, abnormal language development. Most children with this disorder do not present any other cognitive or neurological deficits. There are many different pathological developmental profiles and switches from one profile to another often occur. An alternative would be to consider SLI as a generic name covering three developmental language disorders: developmental verbal dyspraxia, linguistic dysphasia, and pragmatic language impairment. The underlying cause of SLI is unknown and the numerous studies on the subject suggest that there is no single cause. We suggest that SLI is the result of an abnormal development of the language system, occurring when more than one part of the system fails, thus blocking the system’s natural compensation mechanisms. Since compensation also hinders linguistic evaluation, one possibility for diagnosis and remediation control is to assess basic cognitive abilities by non-linguistic means whenever possible. Neurological plausible bases for language and language development should also be taken into account to offer new hypotheses and research issues for future work on SLI. [less ▲]

Le bilan langagier de l'enfant dysphasique

in ANAE : Approche Neuropsychologique des Apprentissages chez l'Enfant (2008), 20(20), 211-220

Poser le diagnostic de dysphasie est un acte complexe qui ne peut se faire que dans le cadre d’une évaluation multidisciplinaire. Certains critères d’exclusion doivent en effet être respectés : les ... [more ▼]

Poser le diagnostic de dysphasie est un acte complexe qui ne peut se faire que dans le cadre d’une évaluation multidisciplinaire. Certains critères d’exclusion doivent en effet être respectés : les troubles langagiers ne peuvent être expliqués en terme de retard mental, perte auditive, maladie neurologique, déprivation environnementale ou trouble émotionnel. Le bilan langagier a un rôle important dans cette évaluation puisqu’il doit, entre autres, permettre de mettre en évidence des marqueurs psycholinguistiques d’inclusion. Cet article sera ciblé sur le bilan orthophonique (logopédique) de l’enfant dysphasique. L’accent sera principalement mis sur la phase de dépistage, d’identification des difficultés mais aussi des ressources de l’enfant. [less ▲]