Language transactions during development and intervention: theoretical implications for developmental neuroscience

Abstract

Recent modeling of language development and intervention for children with disabilities has increasingly focused on the interactions between adults and children. These models have resulted in a number of recent advances in the behavioral treatment of language abilities in children with disabilities. Because these interventions are associated with substantial growth in a number of skills including speech, grammar and vocabulary, these paradigms may provide a useful model for studying neurological development of these aspects of language. The purpose of this paper is to discuss the potential neurodevelopmental ramifications of this type of theoretical model for facilitating language growth in children with and without disabilities. Indeed, because intervention can sometimes trigger rapid advances in language skills and presumably, associated neurological organization, this may prove to be a very useful paradigm for understanding the neurological correlates of language growth.