Developmental Language Disorder: A Consequence of Exemplar-Based Learning?
Year: 2025
Type: article
Abstract: Children with Developmental Language Disorder (DLD) present with unexplained difficulties with both expressive and receptive language. A key conundrum is why their prognoses are often poorer than children with evidenced brain lesions. How can children with early focal lesions acquire language so well compared with children with DLD who do not present with gross neurological abnormalities? A possibility raised by Dell and Chang (2013) is that learning is fundamentally derailed by an exemplar-based learning style. Such a process has been robustly demonstrated in studies of artificial neural networks. This theoretical article discusses exemplar theory, the role exemplars may play in language development, and surveys evidence suggesting an exemplar-based learning style in DLD. It concludes that this provides an interesting new approach to both explaining the condition, and designing new therapies.
Source: First Language
Author: Nick Riches
Institution: Newcastle University
Language: English
Subfield: Developmental and Educational Psychology
Field: Psychology
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: hybrid
Estimated APC paid: $3,650
OpenAlex ID: W4415604114