The Effect of Semantic Context on Lexical Access in Children With and Without Developmental Language Disorder
Authors:   Pediatric Neurorehabilitation Research Center, University of Social Welfare and Rehabilitation Sciences, Tehran, Iran., Hassanati Fatemeh ,   Department of Speech Therapy, University of Social Welfare and Rehabilitation Sciences, Tehran, Iran., Jafari Salime ,   Department of Speech Therapy, School of Rehabilitation Sciences, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran.,   Rehabilitation Sciences Research Center, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran., Nilipour Reza ,   Pediatric Neurorehabilitation Research Center, University of Social Welfare and Rehabilitation Sciences, Tehran, Iran., Sadeghi Zahra ,   Pediatric Neurorehabilitation Research Center, University of Social Welfare and Rehabilitation Sciences, Tehran, Iran., Ghoreishi Zahra Sadat ,   Pediatric Neurorehabilitation Research Center, University of Social Welfare and Rehabilitation Sciences, Tehran, Iran.,   Department of Speech Therapy, University of Social Welfare and Rehabilitation Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
Published: June 2023

Objectives: Lexical access problems are one of the limitations observed in children with developmental language disorders during the initial years of schooling. Semantic context has a powerful influence on lexical access. The cross-modal visual-auditory picture-word interference paradigm is a method for studying adults and children's lexical access. Because few studies have examined lexical access in Persian-speaking children, the present study aimed to investigate the effect of different semantic contexts on lexical access in children with and without developmental language disorder. Methods: In this experimental study, 20 children aged 7-9 years with developmental language disorders and 20 age-matched peers were recruited according to the inclusion and exclusion criteria. At first, the picture-word interference paradigm was prepared. In so doing, 16 common pictures of objects paired with four auditory interfering words (related verb, related noun, unrelated verb, and unrelated noun) were presented to the children in a silent condition to determine their naming accuracy and latency. The DMDX software calculated the naming latency. The percentage of correct names also calculated naming accuracy. Results: Naming latencies were significantly faster in children without language disorders (P≤0.05). In addition, a reliable interference effect was found. According to the results, naming latencies were significantly faster for related verb distractors than unrelated verbs and related noun distractors (P<0.05). In addition, a significant difference was observed between the silent and interference conditions regarding the naming accuracy. However, accuracy was not affected by distractors. Discussion: Different semantic contexts affect lexical access differently in children. These differences cause semantic relatedness between verbs and nouns in lexical networks. The present study findings indicate that lexical knowledge and semantic relatedness are lower in children with developmental language disorders than in those with typical language development. These results can be useful for future studies and interventions on lexical access in children with and without language disorders.