Expressive language development in twins versus singletons at early school age

Mahieu, Julie K.

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https://hdl.handle.net/2142/24122 Copy

Description

Title

Expressive language development in twins versus singletons at early school age

Author(s)

Mahieu, Julie K.

Issue Date

2011-05-25T15:03:38Z

Director of Research (if dissertation) or Advisor (if thesis)

DeThorne, Laura S.

Department of Study

Speech & Hearing Science

Discipline

Speech & Hearing Science

Degree Granting Institution

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Degree Name

M.A.

Degree Level

Thesis

Keyword(s)

• twins
• language
• expressive language
• Western Reserve Reading Project (WRRP)

Abstract

The current study investigated whether twins and singletons differed in their expressive language development at school age. Comparisons focused on language samples and formalized vocabulary assessments gathered from 28 twins and 28 singletons within the Western Reserve Reading Project; the two groups were matched on age, gender, and parent education level. The children’s language samples, taken from conversational interactions, were analyzed for mean length of utterance, number of different words, number of total words, and total number of conjunctions, all of which were converted to z-scores and averaged to form a Conversational Composite. Similarly, children’s scores on the Stanford Binet Vocabulary subtest (Thorndike, Hagen, & Sattler, 1986) and the Boston Naming Test (Goodglass & Kaplan, 2001) were converted into a Formal Language Composite. Mean comparisons via t-test revealed no group differences between twins and on either of the composites. In addition to the Conversational and Formal Composites, a pilot coding process for topic initiation and management was completed for 3 twin-sibling pairs, or a total of 6 children. The topics of modeling clay, school, and hobbies emerged as the most common across transcripts. Measures related to topic management revealed consistent overlap between the two groups. Examiners, in comparison to children, initiated twice as many topic shifts. In sum, results suggest that twinship in and of itself does not indicate a substantial risk for school-age expressive language difficulties, and provide early descriptive data to analyze the transactional nature of topic management within conversational interactions.

Graduation Semester

2011-05

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http://hdl.handle.net/2142/24122

Copyright and License Information

Copyright 2011 Julie K. Mahieu

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