Children and Language: Development, Impairment and Training

The theory of mind (ToM) is the ability to perceive, interpret and predict behaviours or actions of others based on their underlying mental states. The linguistic influence on the developmental neural basis of ToM is described in this book. Furthermore, the deferential effects of context and isolated word training on reading fluency is explained. Using children's literature to assist in science inquiry and in building knowledge in other subject areas has been on the rise, due to the benefits of supporting children's language and literacy learning. Such developments are explored. In addition, the authors give an overview of the electrophysiological correlates of developmental dyslexia, a reading impairment in childhood. This book describes the impact of various cognitive functions on language acquisition and language processing in different groups of children. In addition, the effects of bilingual teaching on the development of children's literacy skills during the first six years of school are explored. Furthermore, selective mutism, a disorder characterised by a lack of speech in specific unfamiliar situations or around unfamiliar people, is described. Crying represents the very first communicative channel infants can use to communicate with their environment and thus, it plays an important role in child development. Studies that have investigated expressions of distress, specifically crying, during early stages of infancy development are reviewed. In addition, studies done to test whether language input strongly influences the development of vocabulary and syntax in children are described. Children with developmental dysphasia were also studied and the outcomes of this study are reviewed. This book looks at the connection between middle ear effusion (MEE) in the first years of life compared to central auditory processing at age seven. Furthermore, problems and questions with regard to diagnosis and intervention of multilingual specific language impairment (SLI) is examined. Future areas of research in this field are also addressed. Finally, the results from a longitudinal study between apparent pain insensibility and non-verbal communication and symbolisation disorders in autism is explored.