Motor Issues in Specific Language Impairment: a Window into the Underlying Impairment

Abstract

This paper reviews the findings of recent studies examining the motor abilities of children with specific language impairment (SLI). Standardized measures of motor ability confirm that children with SLI exhibit deficits in fine and gross motor skill, both simple and complex. These difficulties also extend to speech-motor ability, particularly with the control of their articulatory movements. Communicative gesturing, on the other hand, does not appear to be significantly impacted in SLI. Some of the latest studies reviewed in this paper have examined motor processes supported by procedural memory, which is argued to be impaired in SLI. The results of these studies indicate that children with SLI have difficulty with motor sequence learning, but may show deficits in other procedural motor processes as well. Despite significant progress with understanding the motor issues in SLI, future studies are needed to hone in on the nature of this impairment.

Characterizing the Motor Skills in Children with Specific Language Impairment

“…Her review revealed significant concomitant motor deficits, specifically with gross and fine motor skills, in children with SLI. More recent studies regarding the comorbid motor impairments in SLI have been consistent with the conclusions of Hill [18] and indicated potential impairments in other motor domains as well [16]. To date, SLI studies have reported deficits in (1) gross motor skills [18-23], (2) fine motor skills [18, 19, 21-26], (3) oral motor skills [27-29], and (4) speech motor skills [10, 30-33].…”

“…In our recent review, we synthesized research reporting motor deficits in SLI and argued that a comprehensive investigation of the motor deficits could provide a unique window into the potential underlying domain-general cognitive impairment in SLI [16]. Describing these deficits becomes important to establish the underlying cause of SLI and improve the identification of SLI as well as service development.…”

“…Measures of gross motor skill typically assess balance and coordination through tasks such as standing on one leg, walking in a straight line, and catching a bounced ball [16, 18]. Children with SLI typically stand on one leg for shorter periods of time, have their feet stray more often while walking in a straight line, and catch a bounced ball less frequently than children with TD [19, 20, 22, 23].…”

Children with specific language impairment are more likely to reach motor milestones late

“…By its very definition, SLI is an isolated developmental disorder, because only language development is affected. However, several studies and reviews have shown that children with SLI also frequently have motor deficits (Bishop, ; Finlay & McPhillips, ; Flapper & Schoemaker, ; Hill, ; Leonard, ; Rechetnikov & Maitra, ; Sanjeevan et al, ; Webster, Majnemer, Platt, & Shevell, ). One of the final statements in the recent Delphi Consensus Study on identifying Language Impairment was “Language impairment often co‐occurs with problems in motor skills ….” (Bishop, et al, ).…”

Interspeech posture in Spanish-English bilingual adults

“…However, recent research has started to show this idea of a "pure disorder" does not exist. For example, it is known that that children diagnosed with SLI also show difficulties with fine motor skills and speech-motor ability (DiDonato Brumbach & Goffman, 2014;Sanjeevan et al, 2015). It is also known that children diagnosed with CAS are at risk for problems in the "phonological foundations for literacy" (ASHA, 2007).…”