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Cited by 48Language Development and DisordersHearing Impairment and CommunicationChild and Animal Learning Development

Integrated Communication System: Gesture and Language Acquisition in Typically Developing Children and Children With LD and DLD

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Lüke, Carina, Ritterfeld, Ute, Grimminger, Angela, Rohlfing, Katharina J., Liszkowski, Ulf·2020·Frontiers in Psychology
DOI 10.3389/fpsyg.2020.00118PMC PMC7010863
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Abstract

Gesture and language development are strongly connected to each other. Two types of gestures in particular are analyzed regarding their role for language acquisition: pointing gestures and iconic gestures. With the present longitudinal study, the predictive values of index-finger pointing at 12 months and the comprehension of iconic gestures at 3;0 years for later language skills in typically developing (TD) children and in children with a language delay (LD) or developmental language disorder (DLD) are examined.Forty-two monolingual German children and their primary caregivers participated in the study and were followed longitudinally from 1;0 to 6;0 years. Within a total of 14 observation sessions, the gestural and language abilities of the children were measured using standardized tests and parent questionnaires as well as ad-hoc tests and semi-natural interactions with the caregivers. At the age of 2;0 years, 10 of the 42 children were identified as having a LD. The ability to point with the extended index finger at 1;0 year is predictive for language skills at 5;0 and 6;0 years. This predictive effect is mediated by the language skills of the children at 3;0 years. The comprehension of iconic gestures at 3;0 years correlates with index-finger pointing at 1;0 year and also with earlier and later language skills. It mediates the predictive value of index-finger pointing at 1;0 year for grammar skills at 5;0 and 6;0 years. Children with LD develop the ability to understand the iconicity in gestures later than TD children and score lower in language tests until the age of 6;0 years. These language differences between the two groups of children remain partially until the age of 5;0 years even when the two children with persistent DLD within the group of children with LD are excluded from analyses. Beyond that age, no differences in the language skills between children with and without a history of LD are found when children with a persistent DLD are excluded.The findings support the assumption of an integrated speech-gesture communication system, which functions similarly in TD children and children with LD or DLD, but with a time delay.

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Crossref · 10.3389/fpsyg.2020.00118

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  • Pointing ability at one year predicts language skills at 5 and 6 years of age, and this effect was mediated by comprehension of iconic gestures between 3-5 years.

    “Lüke et al. [25] observed that pointing ability at one year predicts language skills at 5 and 6 years of age, and this effect was mediated by comprehension of iconic gestures (e.g., opening and closing the extended index and middle finger to represent scissors) between 3–5 years.”

    From Tracking Acquisition of Language in Kids (TALK) study protocol: A longitudinal investigation of infants at high vs. low risk for atypical speech and language development (2026) · cites this paper as [25]

    The Results report that index-finger pointing at age 1 predicts later language skills, and that iconic-gesture comprehension at age 3 mediates its relation to grammar skills at ages 5 and 6. The claim overgeneralizes the mediation to language skills as a whole and places gesture comprehension across ages 3–5; the Results explicitly find no such mediation for lexical skills or sentence comprehension and identify age 3 as the mediator measurement. (LLM, conf=0.89)

    Experimental — accuracy not yet measured

  • The findings support an integrated speech-gesture communication system and the importance of early assessment of gesture production and comprehension to detect children with language delay.

    “Their findings support the view of an integrated speech–gesture communication system and the importance of an early assessment of gesture production and comprehension to detect children with LD.”

    From Developmental Language Disorder: Early Predictors, Age for the Diagnosis, and Diagnostic Tools. A Scoping Review (2021) · cites this paper as [80]

  • The predictive effect of pointing at 1;0 year on future language skills is mediated by language skills at 3;0 years and by iconic gesture comprehension at 3;0 years for grammar skills at 5;0 and 6;0.

    “This predictive effect is mediated by language skills at 3;0 years and by iconic gesture comprehension at 3;0 years for grammar skills at 5;0 and 6;0.”

    From Developmental Language Disorder: Early Predictors, Age for the Diagnosis, and Diagnostic Tools. A Scoping Review (2021) · cites this paper as [80]

  • Pointing with the extended index finger at 1;0 year is predictive of future language skills up to 5;0 and 6;0 years.

    “They showed that pointing with the extended index finger at 1;0 year is predictive of future language skills up to 5;0 and 6;0 years.”

    From Developmental Language Disorder: Early Predictors, Age for the Diagnosis, and Diagnostic Tools. A Scoping Review (2021) · cites this paper as [80]

  • The following age ranges have been identified for assessment of potential predictors of DLD: communicative gestures between 12 and 30 months; communication and receptive lexical skills between 15 and 30 months; expressive lexical skills between 15 and 32 months; syntactic comprehension from 28 months onward; word combination from 30 months onward; non-word repetition from 32 months onward; and Exp

    “The following age ranges have been identified: (a) use of communicative gestures between 12 and 30 months [75,79,80,81,86]; (b) communication and receptive lexical skills between 15 and 30 months [75,82,83,86]; (c) expressive lexical skills between 15 and 32 months [75,76,82,83,86,87]; (d) syntactic comprehension from 28 months onward [88]; (f) word combination from 30 months onward [89]; (g) non”

    From Developmental Language Disorder: Early Predictors, Age for the Diagnosis, and Diagnostic Tools. A Scoping Review (2021) · cites this paper as [80]

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Cites

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Authors
Lüke, C., Ritterfeld, U., Grimminger, A., Rohlfing, K. J., & Liszkowski, U.
Affiliations
  • TU Dortmund University (DE)
  • Paderborn University (DE)
  • Universität Hamburg (DE)
Corresponding author
Lüke, Carina
ORCID
Venue
Frontiers in Psychology
Publisher
Frontiers Media SA
Published
2020-02-04
Volume
11
Pages
118-118
ISSN
1664-1078 (ISSN-L)
DOI
10.3389/fpsyg.2020.00118
PMC
PMC7010863
OpenAlex
W3005024125
Cited by
48
References
58
Citations by year
2026: 8 · 2025: 12 · 2024: 7 · 2023: 5 · 2022: 9 · 2021: 4 · 2020: 3
FWCI
7.93
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Licence
Locations
  • Frontiers in Psychology (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) (submittedVersion, cc-by-sa)
Funders
Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (RI 898/6-1, RI 898/6-2, LU 2116/1-2)
Topics
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Developmental and Educational Psychology › Language Development and Disorders
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Developmental and Educational Psychology › Hearing Impairment and Communication
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Developmental and Educational Psychology › Child and Animal Learning Development
Keywords
gesture, language acquisition, pointing gestures, iconic gestures, language delay, specific language impairment, grammatical development, gesture-speech integration, typically developing children, German-speaking children

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