Laura S. DeThorne|Sara A. Hart|Stephen A. Petrill|Kirby Deater?Deckard|Lee A. Thompson|Christopher Schatschneider|Megan Dunn Davison
Children’s History of Speech-Language Difficulties: Genetic Influences and Associations With Reading-Related Measures
University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign|Pennsylvania State University|Pennsylvania State University|Virginia Tech|Case Western Reserve University|Florida State University|Pennsylvania State University
study examined extent genetic environmental influences childrens articulation language difficulties b phenotypic associations difficulties direct assessments readingrelated skills early schoolage yearsbehavioral genetic analyses focused parentreport data regarding speechlanguage skills 248 twin pairs 608 years western reserve reading project addition phenotypic associations childrens speechlanguage status direct assessments early readingrelated abilities examined hierarchical linear modeling hlmprobandwise concordance rates intraclass tetrachoric correlations indicated high heritability childrens difficulties expressive language articulation estimates 54 97 accordingly hlm results indicated children histories speechlanguage difficulties scored significantly lower unaffected children various measures early readingrelated abilitiesresults parentreport survey provided converging evidence genetic effects childrens speech language difficulties suggest children history speechlanguage difficulties risk lower performance early readingrelated measures extent risk differed across measures appeared greatest children demonstrated history difficulties across articulation expressive language receptive language implications future genetic research clinical practice discussed