Phyllis Schneider1, Denyse Hayward. 1. Department of Speech Pathology and Audiology, University of Alberta, 2-70 Corbett Hall, Edmonton, Alberta, T6G 0G2, Canada. phyllis.schneider@ualberta.ca
Abstract
PURPOSE: This article describes the development of a measure, called First Mentions (FM), that can be used to evaluate the referring expressions that children use to introduce characters and objects when telling a story. METHOD: Participants were 377 children ages 4 to 9 years (300 with typical development, 77 with language impairment) who told stories while viewing 6 picture sets. Their first mentions of 8 characters and 6 objects were scored as fully adequate, partially adequate, inadequate, or not mentioned. Total FM scores were compared across age and language groups. RESULTS: There were significant differences for age and language status, as well as a significant Age × Language interaction. Within each age group except age 9, children in the typical development group attained higher scores than children in the group with language impairment. CONCLUSION: These results suggest that the FM measure is a useful tool for identifying whether a child has a problem with introducing referents in stories.
PURPOSE: This article describes the development of a measure, called First Mentions (FM), that can be used to evaluate the referring expressions that children use to introduce characters and objects when telling a story. METHOD:Participants were 377 children ages 4 to 9 years (300 with typical development, 77 with language impairment) who told stories while viewing 6 picture sets. Their first mentions of 8 characters and 6 objects were scored as fully adequate, partially adequate, inadequate, or not mentioned. Total FM scores were compared across age and language groups. RESULTS: There were significant differences for age and language status, as well as a significant Age × Language interaction. Within each age group except age 9, children in the typical development group attained higher scores than children in the group with language impairment. CONCLUSION: These results suggest that the FM measure is a useful tool for identifying whether a child has a problem with introducing referents in stories.