The Detection and Monitoring of Comprehension Errors by Preschool Children With and Without Language Impairment

Abstract

PURPOSE: In this study, the authors examined emerging comprehension monitoring, including error detection, evaluation, and correction within the context of story understanding in preschool children with and without language impairment. METHOD: Thirty-seven children between the ages of 30 and 61 months completed an online comprehension monitoring task. There were 3 groups: 10 children with language impairment, 13 typically developing children who were matched for age, and 14 typically developing children who were matched for receptive vocabulary. RESULTS: Analyses of variance revealed that children with language impairment attained significantly lower scores on the comprehension monitoring task than both age-matched and language-matched groups. CONCLUSION: The skills underlying successful comprehension monitoring that may be affected in young children with language impairment are discussed.