Effects of Signs on Word Learning by Children With Developmental Language Disorder.

Purpose This study investigated the effects of signs on word learning by children with developmental language disorder (DLD), in comparison with typically developing (TD) children, and the relation between a possible sign effect and children's linguistic and cognitive abilities. Method Nine- to 11-year-old children with DLD ( n = 40) and TD children ( n = 26) participated in a word learning experiment. Half of the spoken pseudowords were taught with a pseudosign with learning outcomes being assessed in accuracy and speed.

Benefits of augmentative signs in word learning: Evidence from children who are deaf/hard of hearing and children with specific language impairment.

Background: Augmentative signs may facilitate word learning in children with vocabulary difficulties, for example, children who are Deaf/Hard of Hearing (DHH) and children with Specific Language Impairment (SLI). Despite the fact that augmentative signs may aid second language learning in populations with a typical language development, empirical evidence in favor of this claim is lacking.

Aims: We aim to investigate whether augmentative signs facilitate word learning for DHH children, children with SLI, and typically developing (TD) children.