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Purpose: This longitudinal study examined the development of prelinguistic skills and the continuity of communication and language from the prelinguistic stage to school age. Method: Prelinguistic communication of 427 Finnish children was followed repeatedly from 6 to 18 months of age (n = 203-322 at ages 6, 9, 12, 15, and 18 months), and its associations with language ability at ages 2;0 (n = 104), 3;0 (n = 112), 4;7 (n = 253), 5;3 (n = 102), and 7;9 (n = 236) were examined using latent growth curve modeling. Results: Prelinguistic development across several skills emerged as a rather stable intraindividual characteristic during the first 2 years of life. Continuity from prelinguistic development to later language ability was indicated. The common level and growth of prelinguistic skills were significant predictors of language ability between ages 2;0 (years;months) and 7;9; the percentage explained varied between 10.5% and 53.3%. A slow pace of development across multiple skills, in particular, led to weaker language skills. Conclusions: The results support (a) the idea of a developmental continuum from prelinguistic to linguistic ability and (b) the dimensional view of language ability by indicating that individual variations in early communication skills show consistency that extends beyond the toddler years. Our results also advocate developmental surveillance of early communication by emphasizing the significance of growth in predicting language development.

Purpose: In this study, the authors aimed at gaining understanding on the associations of different types of early language and communication profiles with later self-regulation skills by using longitudinal data from toddler age to kindergarten age. Method: Children with early language profiles representing expressive delay, broad delay (i.e., expressive, social, and/or symbolic), and typical language development were compared in domains of kindergarten-age executive and regulative skills (attentional/executive functions, regulation of emotions and behavioral activity, and social skills) assessed with parental questionnaires. Results: Children with delay in toddler-age language development demonstrated poorer kindergarten-age self-regulation skills than children with typical early language development. Broad early language delays were associated with compromised social skills and attentional/executive functions, and early expressive delays were associated with a generally lower level of kindergarten-age executive and regulative skills. Regression analyses showed that both earlier and concurrent language had an effect especially on the attentional/executive functions. Conclusions: The findings suggest that different aspects of toddler-age language have differential associations with later self-regulation. Possible mechanisms linking early language development to later self-regulative development are discussed.

Purpose: In the present study, the authors examined the prospective associations among early language skills, behavioral regulation skills, and 2 aspects of school-age social functioning (adaptability and social skills). Method: The study sample consisted of children with and without a familial risk for dyslexia. The authors analyzed the relations among children's language (at age 2;6 [years;months] and age 5;0), behavioral regulation skills (at age 5;0), and social functioning (at age 8;0) using structural equation modeling. Subgroups of children with respect to language and behavioral regulation skills (at age 5;0) were identified through the use of mixture modeling. Results: Among at-risk children, behavioral regulation skills mediated the association between early language skills and social outcomes. A subgroup of children with poor regulatory and weak language skills scored lower in adaptability, whereas a subgroup having only poor language skills (with normal behavioral regulation) did not differ from a group with age-appropriate skills. Conclusions: The present findings indicate that behavioral regulation skills play an important role in predicting social outcomes among children at risk for language difficulties. Furthermore, it is suggested that various aspects of social functioning may be influenced differently by self-regulation skills and that predictive relationships vary with the degree of language development deficits and accompanying risks.

Purpose: In this article, the authors examine the developmental continuity from prelinguistic communication to kindergarten age in language and working memory capacity. Method: Following work outlining 6 groups of children with different trajectories of early communication development (ECD; Maatta, Laakso, Tolvanen, Ahonen, & Aro, 2012), the authors examined their later development by psychometric assessment. Ninety-one children first assessed at ages 12-21 months completed a battery of language and working memory tests at age 5;3 (years; months). Results: Two of the ECD groups previously identified as being at risk for language difficulties continued to show weaker performance at follow-up. Seventy-nine percent of the children with compromised language skills at follow-up were identified on the basis of the ECD groups, but the number of false positives was high. The 2 at-risk groups also differed significantly from the typically developing groups in the measures tapping working memory capacity. Conclusions: In line with the dimensional view of language impairment, the accumulation of early delays predicted the amount of later difficulties; however, at the individual level, the prediction had rather low specificity. The results imply a strong link between language and working memory and call for further studies examining the early developmental interaction between language and memory. Key Words: language impairment, working memory, early prediction, prelinguistic communication, Language difficulties are one of the most common early developmental difficulties. Prevalence estimates are 19% for early language delay (Nelson, Nygren, Walker, & Panoscha, 2006) and 7% for specific language [...]