SOCIAL OUTCOMES OF STUDENTS with-LANGUAGE IMPAIRMENTS

[Sheila]

https://web.archive.org/web/20080724225806/http://contentdm.lib.byu.edu/ETD/image/etd2027.pdf

SOCIAL OUTCOMES OF STUDENTS WITH LANGUAGE IMPAIRMENT:
AN EIGHT-YEAR FOLLOW-UP STUDY

by
Meghan A. Baldridge
A thesis submitted to the faculty of
Brigham Young University
in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of
Master of Science
Department of Communication Disorders
Brigham Young University
August 2007

Introduction.........................................................................................................................1
Review of Literature............................................................................................................4
Language Impairment...................................................................................................4
Social Problems with Specific Tasks and in Specific Contexts....................................5
Problematic Social Characteristics.............................................................................13
Problematic Social Outcomes.....................................................................................17
Longitudinal Studies of Social Outcome....................................................................19
Summary.....................................................................................................................28
Current Study..............................................................................................................29
Method..............................................................................................................................30
Participants..................................................................................................................30
Procedures...................................................................................................................31
Instruments..................................................................................................................31
Data Analysis..............................................................................................................38
Results...............................................................................................................................39
Case Study 1-Amy......................................................................................................39
Case Study 2-Jean.......................................................................................................45
Case Study 3-Marie.....................................................................................................50
Case Study 4-Kristine.................................................................................................56

Discussion.........................................................................................................................62
References.........................................................................................................................69

 

[Sheila]

(LI = language impairment) Interesting excerpt:

"Individual case studies. The information revealed by large group longitudinal studies is invaluable. It is also important, however, to consider individual case studies. Because the category of LI is highly heterogeneous, it is likely that the performance of very different individuals is averaged together in any group study of these children. The examination of individual children makes it possible to consider how individualdifferences impact social outcomes. The following case studies show the difficulties encountered by individual subjects and how their social skills were affected by the disorder over time.

Damico (1988) documented the case of Debbie, a girl who was originally evaluated at 5;11 for language difficulties, including semantic and syntactic errors. By the end of the school year, Debbie was thought to have overcome her difficulties and was dismissed from therapy. Six years later, however, Debbie was referred and re-evaluated for LI. By this time her academic standing had drastically declined and she demonstrated a more severe communication disorder than when previously seen. Debbie’s difficulties included poor reading skills, inability to complete assignments, and poor social skills. While signs of her difficulties were demonstrated in early reports, Debbie’s communication and academic difficulties became much more complex with age. Somewhat unexpectedly, she developed serious social difficulties as well. In the seventh grade, Debbie reported she had only three friends, two of them in special education units. Overall, Debbie became more withdrawn and demonstrated more severe language, academic, and social difficulties as an adolescent than when she was originally evaluated in childhood. She was a poor reader and unable to complete the majority of her seventh grade class work. She was enrolled in resource services and received counseling. She was described as a shy girl with poor social skills. This case demonstrates the global and lasting effects of LI and highlights the need to consider social competence in assessment and intervention. Had Debbie’s long term social and academic outcomes been considered, she may not have been prematurely dismissed from speech-language intervention."