ABSTRACT
It is estimated that approximately 8% of children with normal peripheral hearing, motor abilities, and nonverbal intelligence nonetheless fail to develop speech and language at or near the expected age (Tomblin, 1996). These children are diagnosed as specifically language impaired (SLI). Longitudinal research studies that have followed the development of SLI children from preschool through elementary school have shown a striking relationship between early language impairment and subsequent academic achievement disorders, specifically reading impairments (developmental dyslexia; see Aram, Ekelman, & Nation, 1984; Aram & Hall, 1989; Catts, 1993; Rissman, Curtiss, & Tallal, 1990; Silva, Williams, & McGee, 1987; Stark et al., 1984). Over the past 20 years, Tallal and colleagues have focused on understanding the etiology of early language impairment and the relationship between SLI and dyslexia.
