| |
Abstract:
Recent research indicates a strong genetic component for both
language and reading skills. Longitudinal studies have demonstrated
that children with early language impairment are at risk for later
reading problems. Other studies have shown a high correlation
between the rate of processing rapidly successive sensory
information and phonological awareness important in both oral and
written language development. Based on these facts, one might
expect all three areas (rapid processing, language, and reading) to
share a common inheritance. The current study investigates the
incidence of language, reading, and rate processing difficulties in
families with and without a child identified with specific language
impairment (SLI). The families of twenty five SLIs (probands) and
22 controls received a battery of neuropsychological tests,
including language, reading, and a test of auditory processing
rate. In the proband families there were significantly more
siblings and parents identified as SLI (28% vs. 5.5%, p<.001).
Of those subjects identified as SLI, 25.5% also demonstrated
deficits in reading and auditory processing rates. Less than 3% of
non-SLIs demonstrated deficits in these areas lending support to
the notion that language, reading, and rate processing difficulties
co-exist and that family history can play a significant role in the
transmission of these problems. Gene linkage studies are currently
underway.
|
