Factors in toddlers with late language emergence in a middle-income South African sample

Abstract

Late language emergence (LLE) may result from genetic and environmental factors. Little is known about environmental factors in LLE in South Africa. The study describes the nature of differences in language functioning between toddlers with LLE and without LLE, and which factors were associated with LLE in a middle-income area in South Africa. Toddlers, aged 24- to 36 months with LLE (n=20) were matched with a control group (n=21) for household income, age, gender, maternal education and parental employment. The research group showed moderate delays in expressive and receptive language, and play skills, while the controls exhibited no delay. Significant differences in early feeding history and multilingual exposure were found between the groups. As far as known it is the first study utilising a South African middle-income sample indicating that multilingual exposure may play a role in LLE. The study focusses the attention on environmental factors which are potentially modifiable in LLE.