What's in a name? Why language labels matter.

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January 2015

SPECIAL JOURNAL EDITION

What's in a name?

The labels (and diagnostic criteria) associated with unexplained language problems fundamentally affect which children can access services and when.

This is why the Centre contributed to the latest edition of the International Journal of Language and Communication Disorders – a special issue dedicated to exploring the debate around the term 'specific language impairment' or 'SLI'.

Overview of the edition

Introducing the SLI debate

The Centre's article

Specific language impairment: a convenient label for whom?

Other submissions

Ten questions about terminology for children with unexplained language problems

Terminological debate over language Impairment in children: forward movement and sticking points

READ EDITION

International Congress for the Study of Child Language

The Centre presented at this year's International Congress for the Study of Child Language – the world's leading conference on language development.

We shared our findings on the nature of language development, and the social and emotional development of children with language problems.The Congress also included presentations on:

bilingual language development
language development in atypical populations
new methods in child language research
advances in linguistic research (including on syntax, pragmatics and, semantics and lexicon).

Both the Centre's abstracts and the abstracts for the rest of the Congress are available to view.

READ ABSTRACTS

Senate Report into Communication Disorders

The Senate has now released their report into the state of communication disorders in Australia.

It makes 10 recommendations, two of which adopt the Centre's recommendations to conduct an audit of the adequacy, strengths and limitation of speech and language services; and to map the location of speech and language support services against the Australian Early Development Census (formerly the AEDI).

The recommendations and full report are available online.

READ REPORT

About Us
The Centre of Research Excellence in Child Language is a collaboration of some of the world’s leading child language experts. It investigates how language and hearing impact early development; what can go wrong, when and why; and how to assess and intervene effectively to improve children’s language.