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Language, Achievement, and Cognitive Processing in Psychiatrically Disturbed Children with Previously Identified and Unsuspected Language Impairments

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 September 1998

Nancy J. Cohen ,
Melanie A. Barwick ,
Naomi B. Horodezky ,
Denise D. Vallance  and
Nancie Im
Nancy J. Cohen
Affiliation:
Hincks Centre for Children's Mental Health, Toronto, University of Toronto, and York University, Canada
Melanie A. Barwick
Affiliation:
Hincks Centre for Children's Mental Health and University of Toronto, Canada
Naomi B. Horodezky
Affiliation:
Hincks Centre for Children's Mental Health and The George Hull Centre for Children and Families, Toronto, Canada
Denise D. Vallance
Affiliation:
Hincks Centre for Children's Mental Health and University of Toronto, Canada
Nancie Im
Affiliation:
Hincks Centre for Children's Mental Health, Toronto, Canada
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Abstract

This study examined the language, achievement, and cognitive characteristics of 380 children, aged 7 to 14 years, consecutively referred to child psychiatric services. Among those children referred solely for psychiatric problems, 40% had a language impairment that had never been suspected. Children with previously identified and unsuspected language impairments were similar with respect to receptive and expressive language and on measures of cognitive processing. Although both groups of children with language impairments exhibited poorer academic achievement than children with normal language, children with previously identified language impairments had the lowest achievement. The milder achievement problems of children with unsuspected language impairment may explain why their problems had not been suspected. Both the clinical and theoretical implications of the findings are discussed. Heightened awareness concerning the high frequency of language impairment and other cognitive processing problems in children referred for psychiatric assessment and treatment should lead to more systematic examination of language functioning and evaluation of the impact of language and communication functioning on therapeutic outcomes.

Keywords

Psychiatric disorderlanguage disorderreading disordereducational attainmentinformation processing
Type
Research Article
Information
The Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry and Allied Disciplines , Volume 39 , Issue 6 , September 1998 , pp. 865 - 877
Copyright
© 1998 Association for Child Psychology and Psychiatry

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