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Contextual effects on the conversations of mothers and their children with language impairment

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  19 April 2013

MELANIE STICH ,
LUIGI GIROLAMETTO ,
CARLA J. JOHNSON ,
PATRICIA L. CLEAVE  and
XI CHEN
MELANIE STICH
Affiliation:
University of Toronto
LUIGI GIROLAMETTO*
Affiliation:
University of Toronto
CARLA J. JOHNSON
Affiliation:
University of Toronto
PATRICIA L. CLEAVE
Affiliation:
Dalhousie University
XI CHEN
Affiliation:
University of Toronto
*
ADDRESS FOR CORRESPONDENCE Luigi Girolametto, Department of Speech–Language Pathology, Rehabilitation Sciences Building, Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto, 160–500 University Avenue, Toronto, ON M5G 1V7, Canada. E-mail: l.girolametto@utoronto.ca
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Abstract

Twenty-four mothers and their preschool children with language impairment participated in two 12-min sessions of toy play and book reading that were transcribed to yield maternal mean length of utterance in morphemes (MLU-m), type token ratio (TTR), and maternal interaction style (directive vs. responsive). Maternal MLU-m was significantly longer during book reading than during toy play, whereas TTR was similar across contexts. In contrast, children's MLU-m was similar across contexts, whereas TTR was higher during book reading. Mothers used an eliciting style characterized by more commands and questions during toy play than during book reading. Only maternal MLU-m predicted children's expressive language skills (i.e., a composite score of two standardized language tests). The implications include sampling both book reading and play interactions because they provide differential opportunities for conversation and language productivity.

Type
Articles
Information
Applied Psycholinguistics , Volume 36 , Issue 2 , March 2015 , pp. 323 - 344
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2013 

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