Search

This study applies methods used in sign language and gesture research to better understand reduced imitation accuracy (IA) of actions and gestures in children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), and we addressed contrasting theories on IA in ASD and the role of objects and meanings in imitation. Eight male children with ASD with a mean chronological age (CA) of 86.76 months ( SD = 10.74, range 70.5–104.4) and 22 male and female peers with typical development (TD) and a mean CA of 85.44 months ( SD = 7.95, range 73.4–96.7) imitated videos of an adult performing actions with objects, representational gestures, conventional gestures and meaningless gestures. We measured accuracy as ability to effectively reproduce features (handshape, palm orientation, location, movement direction and type) and timing (speed) of observed actions/gestures, after ruling out cases of specular (i.e., mirror-like) versus anatomical imitation. Results highlighted significantly lower feature and timing accuracy in children with ASD with respect to the TD group across tasks, and these findings supported sensory-motor theories of IA in ASD. Our data also showed the different impact of objects and meanings within groups. Overall, these results suggest validity to our assessment method and suggested the importance of considering both discreet variables (i.e., variables describing action/gesture feature accuracy, e.g. handshape, movement direction) and continuous variables (i.e., kinematic variables, e.g. speed) in evaluating IA in autism.

Contains fulltext : 250300.pdf (Publisher’s version ) (Open Access) Sign languages use multiple articulators and iconicity in the visual modality which allow linguistic units to be organized not only linearly but also simultaneously. Recent research has shown that users of an established sign language such as LIS (Italian Sign Language) use simultaneous and iconic constructions as a modality-specific resource to achieve communicative efficiency when they are required to encode informationally rich events. However, it remains to be explored whether the use of such simultaneous and iconic constructions recruited for communicative efficiency can be employed even without a linguistic system (i.e., in silent gesture) or whether they are specific to linguistic patterning (i.e., in LIS). In the present study, we conducted the same experiment as in Slonimska et al. with 23 Italian speakers using silent gesture and compared the results of the two studies. The findings showed that while simultaneity was afforded by the visual modality to some extent, its use in silent gesture was nevertheless less frequent and qualitatively different than when used within a linguistic system. Thus, the use of simultaneous and iconic constructions for communicative efficiency constitutes an emergent property of sign languages. The present study highlights the importance of studying modality-specific resources and their use for linguistic expression in order to promote a more thorough understanding of the language faculty and its modality-specific adaptive capabilities. 38 p.

Background. Developmental Language Disorder (DLD) is frequent in childhood and may have long-term sequelae. By employing an evidence-based approach, this scoping review aims at identifying (a) early predictors of DLD; (b) the optimal age range for the use of screening and diagnostic tools; (c) effective diagnostic tools in preschool children. Methods. We considered systematic reviews, meta-analyses, and primary observational studies with control groups on predictive, sensitivity and specificity values of screening and diagnostic tools and psycholinguistic measures for the assessment of DLD in preschool children. We identified 37 studies, consisting of 10 systematic reviews and 27 primary studies. Results. Delay in gesture production, receptive and/or expressive vocabulary, syntactic comprehension, or word combination up to 30 months emerged as early predictors of DLD, a family history of DLD appeared to be a major risk factor, and low socioeconomic status and environmental input were reported as risk factors with lower predictive power. Optimal time for screening is suggested between age 2 and 3, for diagnosis around age 4. Because of the high variability of sensitivity and specificity values, joint use of standardized and psycholinguistic measures is suggested to increase diagnostic accuracy. Conclusions. Monitoring risk situations and employing caregivers’ reports, clinical assessment and multiple linguistic measures are fundamental for an early identification of DLD and timely interventions.

Contains fulltext : 246492.pdf (Publisher’s version ) (Open Access) Meanings communicated with depictions constitute an integral part of how speakers and signers actually use language (Clark, 2016). Recent studies have argued that, in sign languages, depicting strategy like constructed action (CA), in which a signer enacts the referent, is used for referential purposes in narratives. Here, we tested the referential function of CA in a more controlled experimental setting and outside narrative context. Given the iconic properties of CA we hypothesized that this strategy could be used for efficient information transmission. Thus, we asked if use of CA increased with the increase in the information required to be communicated. Twenty-three deaf signers of LIS described unconnected images, which varied in the amount of information represented, to another player in a director–matcher game. Results revealed that participants used CA to communicate core information about the images and also increased the use of CA as images became informatively denser. The findings show that iconic features of CA can be used for referential function in addition to its depictive function outside narrative context and to achieve communicative efficiency. 30 p.

Contains fulltext : 220150.pdf (Publisher’s version ) (Closed access) A fundamental assumption about language is that, regardless of language modality, it faces the linearization problem, i.e., an event that occurs simultaneously in the world has to be split in language to be organized on a temporal scale. However, the visual modality of signed languages allows its users not only to express meaning in a linear manner but also to use iconicity and multiple articulators together to encode information simultaneously. Accordingly, in cases when it is necessary to encode informatively rich events, signers can take advantage of simultaneous encoding in order to represent information about different referents and their actions simultaneously. This in turn would lead to more iconic and direct representation. Up to now, there has been no experimental study focusing on simultaneous encoding of information in signed languages and its possible advantage for efficient communication. In the present study, we assessed how many information units can be encoded simultaneously in Italian Sign Language (LIS) and whether the amount of simultaneously encoded information varies based on the amount of information that is required to be expressed. Twenty-three deaf adults participated in a director-matcher game in which they described 30 images of events that varied in amount of information they contained. Results revealed that as the information that had to be encoded increased, signers also increased use of multiple articulators to encode different information (i.e., kinematic simultaneity) and density of simultaneously encoded information in their production. Present findings show how the fundamental properties of signed languages, i.e., iconicity and simultaneity, are used for the purpose of efficient information encoding in Italian Sign Language (LIS). 20 p.

Infants acquire language in distinct stages, starting from single gestures and single words, and through utilising gestures, they learn multi-word combinations. To achieve this language development on artificial agents, we propose a multi-modal computational model for single to multi-word transition through gesture-word combinations. Our approach relies on advancements in deep models for feature extraction and on casting the supplementary word generation problem into a matrix completion task. Experimental evaluation is carried out on a dataset recorded directly from the humanoid iCub's cameras, comprising the deictic gesture of pointing and real-world objects. Illustrated by our results, the proposed architecture further strengthens its potential to model early stage language acquisition.

Da inserire

In questo articolo si intende analizzare la straordinaria sfida che lo sviluppo e la diffusione delle tecnologie intelligenti stanno rappresentando, con sempre maggiore pervasività e impatto, per gli esseri umani: le loro menti, comportamenti modalità interazionali; le loro strutture organizzative, economiche e sociali. Cercheremo di capire i riflessi che l'automazione intelligente implicherà per il lavoro, lo sviluppo cognitivo, l'educazione, i servizi, la comunicazione. Diventerà evidente la necessità di una mobilitazione dell'ampia gamma di strumenti culturali che l'umanità ha sviluppato: ogni ambito del sapere e ciascuna delle capacità politiche ed organizzative che saremo in grado di mobilitare. Andranno ridiscussi e definiti: obiettivi condivisi, principi irrinunciabili, strategie comuni.

Forty-one high-risk infants (HR) with an older sibling with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) were observed longitudinally at 10, 12, 18 and 24 months of age during a tool use task in a play-like scenario. Changes in grasp types and functional actions produced with a spoon were assessed during elicited tool use. Outcome and vocabulary measures were available at 36 months, distinguishing: 11 HR-ASD, 15 HR-language delay and 15 HR-no delay. Fewer HR-ASD infants produced grasp types facilitating spoon use at 24 months and functional actions at 10 months than HR-no delay. Production of functional actions in HR infants at 10 months predicted word comprehension at 12 months and word production at 24 and 36 months.

We review major developmental evidence on the continuity from action to gesture to word and sign in human children, highlighting the important role of caregivers in the development of multimodal communication. In particular, the basic issues considered here and contributing to the current debate on the origins and development of the language-ready brain are: (1) links between early actions, gestures and words and similarities in representational strategies; (2) importance of multimodal communication and the interplay between gestures and spoken words; (3) interconnections between early actions, gestures and signs. The innovation of this report is in connecting these themes together to relevant findings from studies on children between 6 and 36 months of age and highlighting interesting parallels in studies on ape communicative behavior.

What is linguistic communication and what is it not? Even if we often convey meanings through visible bodily actions, these are rarely considered part of human language. However, co-verbal gestures have compositional structure and semantic significance, while highly iconic structures are essential in sign languages. This paper offers a review of major studies conducted in our lab on the continuity from actions to gestures to words/signs in development. After a brief introduction, we show how gestures may bridge the gap between actions and words and how this interrelationship extends beyond early childhood and across cultures. We stress the role of sign language and multimodal communication in the study of language as a form of action and present recent research on motoric aspects of human communication. Studying the visible actions of speakers and signers leads to a revision of the traditional dichotomy between linguistic and enacted, and to the development of a new approach to embodied language.

The present study reports empirical longitudinal data on the early stages of language development. The main hypothesis is that the output systems of speech and gesture may draw on underlying brain mechanisms common to both language and motor functions. We analyze the spontaneous interaction with their parents of three typically-developing children (2 M, 1 F) videotaped monthly at home between 10 and 23 months of age. Data analyses focused on the production of actions, representational and deictic gestures and words, and gesture-word combinations. Results indicate that there is a continuity between the production of the first action schemes, the first gestures and the first words produced by children. The relationship between gestures and words changes over time. The onset of two-word speech was preceded by the emergence of gesture-word combinations. The results are discussed in order to integrate and support the evolutionary and neurophysiological views of language origins and development.

The aim of this paper is to compare speech and co-speech gestures observed during a narrative retelling task in five- and ten-year-old children from three different linguistic groups, French, American, and Italian, in order to better understand the role of age and language in the development of multimodal monologue discourse abilities. We asked 98 five- and ten-year-old children to narrate a short, wordless cartoon. Results showed a common developmental trend as well as linguistic and gesture differences between the three language groups. In all three languages, older children were found to give more detailed narratives, to insert more comments, and to gesture more and use different gestures – specifically gestures that contribute to the narrative structure – than their younger counterparts. Taken together, these findings allow a tentative model of multimodal narrative development in which major changes in later language acquisition occur despite language and culture differences.

One of the most important challenges for embodied and grounded theories of cognition concerns the representation of abstract concepts, such as "freedom". Many embodied theories of abstract concepts have been proposed. Some proposals stress the similarities between concrete and abstract concepts showing that they are both grounded in perception and action system while other emphasize their difference favouring a multiple representation view. An influential view proposes that abstract concepts are mapped to concrete ones through metaphors. Furthermore, some theories underline the fact that abstract concepts are grounded in specific contents, as situations, introspective states, emotions. These approaches are not necessarily mutually exclusive, since it is possible that they can account for different subsets of abstract concepts and words. One novel and fruitful way to understand the way in which abstract concepts are represented is to analyze how sign languages encode concepts into signs. In the present paper we will discuss these theoretical issues mostly relying on examples taken from Italian Sign Language (LIS, Lingua dei Segni Italiana), the visual-gestural language used within the Italian Deaf community. We will verify whether and to what extent LIS signs provide evidence favoring the different theories of abstract concepts. In analyzing signs we will distinguish between direct forms of involvement of the body and forms in which concepts are grounded differently, for example relying on linguistic experience. In dealing with the LIS evidence, we will consider the possibility that different abstract concepts are represented using different levels of embodiment. The collected evidence will help us to discuss whether a unitary embodied theory of abstract concepts is possible or whether the different theoretical proposals can account for different aspects of their representation.

Two distinct lines of investigation are presented: the study of linguistic competence in the written language of deaf children and adults, and the study of linguistic development in children and adolescents with Williams syndrome (WS). Qualitative data focusing on spoken and written Italian and coming from cross-sectional and longitudinal studies conducted over the last 10 years are briefly reviewed and discussed. Italian people who are deaf demonstrate selective difficulties with aspects of grammatical morphology that play a syntactic rather than a semantic function. Italian people with WS display a particular asymmetric fragmentation within linguistic abilities: a profile of strength in phonological abilities but serious deficits in semantic and morphosyntactic aspects of language. The case of these two very different populations can offer us important clues for investigating which aspects of language and specifically of grammar are influenced by modality of perception.

Children with Williams syndrome (WS) have been reported to exhibit an unusual cognitive profile characterized by marked preservation of linguistic abilities and poor visuospatial abilities against a backdrop of generalized mental retardation. Much of the data documenting this profile come from studies of older children and adults with WS. Very few studies have reported findings from the preschool and early school-age period. As a result, little is known about the early development of cognitive processes in children with WS. Capirci, Sabbadini, and Volterra (1996) reported data from a longitudinal case study of early language development in a young child with WS. This article presents the longitudinal profile of visuospatial abilities in this same child. Data on copying and free drawing collected over a period extending from late preschool to early school age are reported. It is clear from these data that this child does indeed exhibit deficits in visuospatial abilities. Her performance clearly improved with age, but deficits persist.

We describe an educational experience designed to teach Italian Sign Language (LIS) to a group of hearing children. The hypothesis underlying this experience was that learning a visual-gestural language such as LIS may improve children's attentional abilities, visual discrimination, and spatial memory. To examine this hypothesis, we conducted two studies. The first involved an educational experience lasting two years with a group of hearing children attending a Sign Language class from first to second grade. The Raven PM 47 TEST was administered at the beginning and at the end of each school year to children attending the LIS classes and to a control group of children enrolled in the same school but not exposed to LIS. The second study involved an educational experience in first grade. The Raven PM 47 and Corsi's block tapping tests were administered at the beginning and at the end of the school year to the children attending the LIS classes, to children enrolled in the same school but at tending an English class, and to children not exposed to a second language. We found that in both studies the LIS group performed better than the other groups. These results suggest that learning a sign language may lead to a cognitive advancement in hearing children.

Motion capture based on magneto-inertial sensors is a technology enabling data collection in unstructured environments, allowing 'out of the lab' motion analysis. This technology is a good candidate for motion analysis of children thanks to the reduced weight and size as well as the use of wireless communication that has improved its wearability and reduced its obtrusivity. A key issue in the application of such technology for motion analysis is its calibration, i.e. a process that allows mapping orientation information from each sensor to a physiological reference frame. To date, even if there are several calibration procedures available for adults, no specific calibration procedures have been developed for children. This work addresses this specific issue presenting a calibration procedure for motion capture of thorax and upper limbs on healthy children. Reported results suggest comparable performance with similar studies on adults and emphasize some critical issues, opening the way to further improvements. © 2013 IEEE.

La culture, la langue et l’âge ont une incidence sur les conduites langagières en général. Dans le cas présent, nous avons voulu vérifier de quelle façon les conduites narratives multimodales (paroles et gestes) sont sensibles à ces trois facteurs, afin de mieux apprécier le rôle respectif des acquisitions linguistiques et du développement cognitif dans l’évolution des capacités discursives chez l’enfant. L’étude porte sur plus de 150 récits parlés produits par des enfants français, italiens et américains, filmés puis transcrits à l’aide d’un logiciel d’annotation multimodale. Les premiers résultats font apparaitre des différences tant au plan linguistique qu’au plan gestuel. Ce sont les enfants français qui réalisent les récits les plus longs et détaillés, mais ce sont les enfants italiens qui utilisent le mieux les ressources gestuelles pour les mettre au service de la construction référentielle. Quant à l’effet de l’âge, il est visible sur l’ensemble des variables linguistiques en même temps que sur les aspects gestuels de la cohésion discursive et de la représentation des évènements. Il semble qu’en dépit des différences inhérentes aux langues et des variations culturelles en matière de gestualité, l’évolution des capacités discursives et des capacités cognitives sous-jacentes soit semblable dans les trois cas. It has been demonstrated that culture, language and age have an effect on language behavior. In this paper, we study the way speech and gesture narrative behavior respond to these three factors in order to better understand the respective role of linguistic acquisition and cognitive development in the building of monologic discourse abilities. We asked over 150 six years old and ten years old French, Italian and American children to narrate from a short speechless cartoon. All narratives were transcribed with an annotation tool designed to annotate for gesture and speech. The first results show that French children are greater talkers whereas Italian children are greater gesturers and use a lot of referential gestures, whereas American children deliver shorter narratives with fewer gestures. We observe age differences among all children on language behavior and on the gesture coding of discourse cohesion as well as on the gesture representation of events. Monologic discourse abilities and related cognitive abilities seem to occur in all populations in the same developmental stages.

This study explores the interplay between gestures and words in the early vocabularies of 12 normally developing Italian children at 16 and 20 months of age. Focusing on spontaneous production of verbal and gestural types and tokens, we assessed the diversity and semantic content of the verbal and gestural vocabularies. Results indicated that the gestural modality was utilized extensively by all subjects. Whereas only half the group had more gesture than word types in their repertoires at 16 months, eight of the 12 subjects exhibited a clear preference for communication in the gestural modality, employing a larger number of gestural than verbal tokens. By 20 months, almost all of the subjects had many more word types and used words more frequently than gestures. By providing some sensorimotor components of an object-referent, gestures may lessen the demand on developing symbolic skills and aid the child in the transition to highly abstract word-referent relationships.

Italian children are immersed in a gesture-rich culture. Given the large gesture repertoire of Italian adults, young Italian children might be expected to develop a larger inventory of gestures than American children. If so, do these gestures impact the course of language learning? We examined gesture and speech production in Italian and US children between the onset of first words and the onset of two-word combinations. We found differences in the size of the gesture repertoires produced by the Italian vs. the American children, differences that were inversely related to the size of the children's spoken vocabularies. Despite these differences in gesture vocabulary, in both cultures we found that gesture + speech combinations reliably predicted the onset of two-word combinations, underscoring the robustness of gesture as a harbinger of linguistic development.

The present paper focuses on early stages of development exploring the emergence of the gesture language system in infancy and its evolution toward the adult system. Old and recent studies carried on mainly in our Laboratory are described and discussed. According to the perspective that emerged in the late 1970s the findings on the role of gesture in the acquisition and development of language did not raise any particular interest in a wider audience. In more recent years a new theoretical framework emerging from different disciplines and perspectives (evolutionary, neuro-physiological, linguistic) made this approach to the ontogeny of language extremely relevant. Findings on the tight link between actions, gestures, and spoken words in young children support some hypotheses put forward by these different perspectives and are in accordance with this new theoretical framework.

The aim of the present study was to examine potential effects of early exposure to sign language on the use of communicative gestures by a bilingual hearing child of deaf parents. Data collected monthly during the first two years were analyzed in order to identify types and tokens of communicative gestures, words, and signs and the ways in which they were combined. These data are compared with those obtained from 12 monolingual hearing children observed at 16 and 20 months of age who were exposed only to spoken language. Findings suggest that while exposure to sign language does not seem to provide the bilingual child with an advantage in the rate of early linguistic development, it does appear to influence the extent to which he communicated in the manual modality and made use of its representational and combinatorial potential.

Williams syndrome (WS) is a rare (2-5/100,000) genetic human disorder characterised by a typical facies and mental retardation with a deficit in the visuospatial cognitive function and a relative preservation of linguistic abilities in general, and spoken language in particular. This syndrome also includes morphological anomalies, metabolic functional impairments, and likely deficits in the pattern of brain ontogenesis. The genetic basis of WS, recently identified, are presented. A cognitive profile of the WS individuals is defined and compared to Down syndrome (DS) and autism cognitive profiles. Neuroanatomical features of WS, including a reduction in brain volume, preservation of cerebellum and frontal lobes, and a reduction of posterior cortical systems, are described. The possible role of NGF (nerve growth factor)--a neurotrophin involved in the development of brain cholinergic systems and the associated behavioural functions--in the aetiology of the typical mental retardation of WS patients, is critically discussed. Future research avenues, including the identification of potential neurobiological markers in order to precociously diagnose this syndrome, are reviewed.

People have stereotypes about gesture usage. For instance, speakers in East Asia are not supposed to gesticulate, and it is believed that Italians gesticulate more than the British. Despite the prevalence of such views, studies that investigate these stereotypes are scarce. The present study examined people's views on spontaneous gestures by collecting data from five different countries. A total of 363 undergraduate students from five counties (France, Italy, Japan, the Netherlands and USA) participated in this study. Data were collected through a two-part questionnaire. Part 1 asked participants to rate two characteristics of gesture: frequency and size of gesture for 13 different languages. Part 2 asked them about their views on factors that might affect the production of gestures. The results showed that most participants in this study believe that Italian, Spanish, and American English speakers produce larger gestures more frequently than other language speakers. They also showed that each culture group, even within Europe, put weight on a slightly different aspect of gestures, Les gens ont des stéréotypes sur l'utilisation du geste. Par exemple, les locuteurs de l'Est de l'Asie de l'Est ne produisent pas beaucoup de gestes et on croit que les Italiens gesticulent plus que les Britanniques. Malgré la prévalence de ces points de vue, les études qui se penchent sur ces stéréotypes sont rares. La présente étude a examiné les points de vue des participants sur des gestes spontanés en recueillant des données dans cinq pays différents. Un total de 363 étudiants de premier cycle de cinq régions du monde (France, Italie, Japon, Pays-Bas et États-Unis) ont participé à cette étude. Les données ont été recueillies à travers un questionnaire en deux parties. Dans la Partie 1, il était demandé aux participants d'évaluer deux caractéristiques du geste : la fréquence et la taille des gestes produits dans 13 langues différentes. Dans la Partie 2, ils ont été interrogés sur leurs points de vue sur les facteurs qui peuvent affecter la production gestuelle. Les résultats montrent que la plupart des participants à cette étude estiment que les locuteurs italiens, espagnols, anglais et américains produisent de plus grands gestes, plus fréquemment, que les locuteurs des autres langues. Par ailleurs, chaque groupe culturel, même au sein de l'Europe, met l'accent sur un aspect légèrement différent des gestes dans sa perception.

This study explores the communicative use of the gestural and vocal modalities by normally developing Italian children during the transition from one- to two-word speech. We analysed the spontaneous production of 12 children at 1;4 and at 1;8, focusing on the use of two-element combinations of words and/or gestures. Results indicated that use of gesture and gesture-word combinations during the transition to two-word speech is a robust feature of communicative development across a relatively large number of children in a rich gestural culture, and that the number of gesture-word and two-word combinations increased significantly from 1;4 to 1;8. Number of gestures and gesture-word combinations produced at 1;4 was also predictive of total vocal production at 1;8. Findings are discussed in terms of the role of gesture as a transitional device en route to two-word speech.

Previous studies of linguistic and memory abilities in Italian-speaking children with Williams syndrome (WS) and Down syndrome (DS)are briefly reviewed. New data on linguistic performance of 6 Italian children with WS between 3 and 6 years of age are presented and compared with data on linguistic performance of 6 children with DS selected from a larger sample and matched for chronological age and vocabulary size and of 6 typically developing (TD) younger children matched for mental age and vocabulary size. The language measures also included a parent report of early phrase structure, a naming test, and a sentence repetition task. Analyses revealed that the 3 groups of children were at the same productive vocabulary level, but showed different patterns in sentence production and repetition. Children with WS produced more complete sentences, similar to TD children at the same vocabulary size, whereas children with DS produced more telegraphic and incomplete sentences. The difference between children with DS and those with WS was more marked on the repetition task, suggesting that phonological short-term memory may play a greater role when sentence production is measured through repetition. In addition, qualitative analysis of errors produced in the repetition test revealed interesting differences among the 3 groups. These results from younger children confirm and extend previous findings with older children and adolescents with WS. They further suggest that the apparently spared linguistic abilities of children with WS could emerge as an artifact of comparisons made to children with DS, whose sentence production competence is more compromised relative to other verbal and nonverbal abilities.

Numerous studies have indicated that when adults interact with very young children, they modify their speech in a consistent fashion. Although the characteristics of these modifications have been well documented, relatively little is known about the frequency and types of gestures that accompany adults' speech to young children. The present study was designed to provide data on maternal use of gesture during mother-toddler interactions and to assess whether maternal use of gestures changes as children's speech becomes progressively more complex. Twelve upper-middle-class Italian mother-child dyads were videotaped in their homes for 45 min when children were 16 and 20 months of age. Results indicated that mothers made use of a “gestural motherese” characterized by the relatively infrequent use of concrete gestures redundant with and reinforcing the message conveyed in speech. In addition, individual differences in maternal gesture and speech production were highly stable over time despite substantial changes in children's use of gesture and speech, and there was some evidence for positive relations between maternal gesture production and children's verbal and gestural production and vocabulary size within and across observations. Findings are discussed in terms of the functions that maternal gesture may serve for young language learners.

Recent studies on subjects with Williams syndrome (WS) have revealed a particular facility for language, rarely observed in other mental retarded populations, inspiring much belief in the independence of language from cognition. Lexical and morphosyntactic abilities of 17 Italian WS individuals, between 4.10 and 15.3 years of age, were evaluated both in comprehension and production and compared with those of normally developing Italian children. WS subjects look similar to normal controls in lexical comprehension, but they appear to perform more poorly in grammatical comprehension. Furthermore they look deviant from normals in some morphosyntactic aspects of their production. They perform better than normal controls only with respect to phonological fluency, when semantic aspects are not involved. Our data show very little evidence for a dissociation between language and cognition.