Specific Language Impairment (Chapter 2)

The brain is fascinating to me, and I became intrigued when reading about language dissociations. I’m particularly curious about these types of disabilities because I didn’t realize how much your brain controls your language abilities. I mean it’s obvious that it does, but I’ve just always assumed that language was more of something that was taught rather than something programmed already into your brain. I decided to focus on specific language impairment (SLI).

The text provided some examples of how children with SLI speak: “Show me knife” and “It not long one.” I also googled some examples and found: “He eat the cookie” and “Why he like me?” This was interesting to me because, honestly, I hear people in my age group talk like this all the time. I just thought it was bad grammar or even a cultural thing. I never thought that they could possibly have been diagnosed with a disability.

To me it sounds weird to even call these language dissociations disabilities or label people with them as speaking incorrectly. For one, who decides what is “right” and “wrong” in regard to language. If language is something created by your brain, then how do we know that people diagnosed with SLI and other language dissociations do not have another interpretation of language? I also wonder if SLI occurs in children who speak other languages? Or is this just something documented in people who speak English?

It frustrates me when people label someone who does something differently as a person with a disability. I’m curious to know more about SLI and how people with it communicate.