As a practitioner in the field of speech and language therapy, understanding the complexities of language comprehension in children is paramount. Dorothy V. M. Bishop's book, "Uncommon Understanding: Development and Disorders of Language Comprehension in Children" (1997), provides an extensive review of the contemporary research in this area. This blog will delve into the key insights from Bishop's work and discuss how practitioners can implement these findings to improve their skills and outcomes for children with Specific Language Impairment (SLI).
Key Insights from Uncommon Understanding
Bishop's book is a comprehensive synthesis of research from various fields, including psycholinguistics, language acquisition, and neuropsychology. It focuses specifically on children with SLI and their comprehension difficulties. The book is structured into nine chapters, each addressing different levels of language comprehension:
- Speech Perception: Bishop highlights that children with SLI often have impairments in speech perception, which can affect their ability to process auditory information.
- Lexical Development: The book discusses the challenges these children face in developing their vocabulary and understanding word meanings.
- Grammatical Comprehension: Bishop explores the difficulties in sentence-level comprehension, emphasizing the ongoing debate between linguistic and cognitive processing perspectives.
- Discourse Comprehension: The book examines how children with SLI struggle with understanding spoken discourse in naturalistic settings and integrating multiple sources of information.
- Social Meaning: Bishop addresses the comprehension of social meaning and the intention of the speaker, which is crucial for effective communication.
Implementing Research Findings in Practice
While Bishop's book is not a direct guide to assessment and treatment, it provides valuable insights that can be translated into practical applications. Here are some ways practitioners can use these findings to improve their skills:
1. Focus on Early Intervention
Bishop suggests that early perceptual deficits can have a downstream impact on later syntactic abilities. Therefore, early intervention targeting speech perception and auditory processing can be crucial. Implementing auditory training programs and phonological awareness activities can help mitigate these deficits.
2. Integrate Multimodal Approaches
Given the complexity of language comprehension, using multimodal approaches that combine visual, auditory, and kinesthetic elements can be beneficial. For example, incorporating visual aids, gestures, and interactive activities can enhance comprehension and retention.
3. Address Attention and Working Memory
Bishop notes the impact of attentional problems on comprehension performance. Practitioners should consider incorporating strategies to improve attention and working memory, such as memory games, attention exercises, and structured routines.
4. Emphasize Social Interaction
Social understanding is a critical component of language comprehension. Practitioners should create opportunities for children to engage in social interactions and practice conversational skills. Role-playing, group activities, and social stories can be effective tools.
5. Conduct Longitudinal Studies
Bishop calls for longitudinal studies to better understand the long-term impact of early perceptual deficits. Practitioners can contribute to this research by documenting and sharing their findings from long-term interventions and tracking the progress of their clients over time.
Encouraging Further Research
Bishop's book provides a solid foundation, but it also highlights the need for further research in several areas. Practitioners are encouraged to stay updated with the latest research and contribute to the growing body of knowledge. Attending conferences, participating in webinars, and engaging in professional networks can help practitioners stay informed and connected.
To read the original research paper, please follow this link: Uncommon Understanding: Development and Disorders of Language Comprehension in Children (1997).
