Early vocabulary development in late talkers

To clarify the characteristics of early vocabulary development in late talkers, we are collecting and analyzing multiple types of vocabulary development data in a pediatric medical fields. In Study 1, we used a diary-based tablet application to collect longitudinal vocabulary data from mothers of late talkers (N=2). A piecewise linear approximation indicated that both late talkers show rapid vocabulary growth (i.e., vocabulary spurt) even if the growth begins much later than typically developing children (N=17). In Study 2, we used a 2,688-item vocabulary checklist tablet application to collect data from mothers of atypically developing children (N=20). An analysis based on vocabulary commonality index indicated that atypically developing children (e.g., late talkers, autism spectrum disorder) as well as typically developing children (N=1,451) tend to acquire similar words at earlier stages of language development. Based these findings, we are proposing a support system for speech-language therapy.

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