The Relationship of Genes, Environments, and Developmental Language Disorders: Part 1 - Research for the Twenty-first Century

Tempe Mission Palms Hotel, Tempe, AZ

May 2-4, 2002

In the last ten years, we have experienced significant advances in our understanding of language disorders in children. Both inherited and environmental factors now complete the picture of human development and disability. Scientific knowledge is often limited, however, by research programs that focus on a specific clinical area, such as, Williams Syndrome, autism, or Specific Language Impairment. This conference was designed to bridge the gaps and build a unified theoretical framework on language and developmental disabilities across clinical populations. By bringing together experts in genetics, neuroscience, and behavioral development, we are finding answers about: characteristics that the disorders share; the unique aspects of each disorder; and the reasons for shared characteristics among disorders. The ultimate purpose of this inquiry is to create more effective treatments for persons with disabilities.

The book Developmental Language Disorders: From Phenotypes to Etiologies was published in May 2004 by Lawrence Erlbaum.

Pictured below, left to right, back row: Don Bailey, Joy Simpson, Colleen Morris, Steve Warren, Ralph-Axel Mueller, and Colin Phillips. Middle row: Judith Cooper, Catherine Lord, Bruce Tomblin, Travis Thompson, Shelley Smith, and Andrea Zukowski. Front row: Len Abbeduto, Mabel Rice, Kathleen McCluskey-Fawcett, Peggy McCardle, Helen Tager-Flusberg, and Carolyn Mervis.

Left to right, back row: Don Bailey, Joy Simpson, Colleen Morris, Steve Warren, Ralph-Axel Mueller, and Colin Phillips. Middle row: Judith Cooper, Catherine Lord, Bruce Tomblin, Travis Thompson, Shelley Smith, and Andrea Zukowski. Front row: Len Abbeduto, Mabel Rice, Kathleen McCluskey-Fawcett, Peggy McCardle, Helen Tager-Flusberg, and Carolyn Mervis.

Resource

2002 Conference Participants

Conference Directors

  • Mabel Rice, Director of the Merrill Center, University of Kansas
  • Steven Warren, Director, Life Span Institute, University of Kansas

Participants

  • Leonard Abbeduto, Educational Psychology, University of Wisconsin at Madison
  • Don Bailey, Frank Graham Child Development Center, University of North Carolina
  • Judith Cooper, Chief, Scientific Programs Branch, NIDCD
  • Catherine Lord, Psychology, University of Michigan
  • Peggy McCardle, Associate Branch Chief, Child Development & Behavior, NICHHD
  • Carolyn Mervis, Psychological & Brain Sciences, University of Louisville
  • Colleen Morris, Pediatrics - Genetics Division, University of Nevada Medical School
  • Ralph-Axel Mueller, Psychology, San Diego State University
  • Colin Phillips, Linguistics, University of Maryland
  • Shelley Smith, Monroe Meyer Institute, University of Nebraska Medical Center
  • Helen Tager-Flusberg, Anatomy & Neurobiology, Boston University School of Medicine
  • Travis Thompson, Institute for Child Development, University of Kansas Medical Center
  • J. Bruce Tomblin, Speech Pathology & Audiology, University of Iowa
  • Andrea Zukowski, Linguistics, University of Maryland

Merrill Center Board of Directors

  • Kathleen McCluskey-Fawcett, Interim Dean, College of Liberal Arts & Sciences, and Professor of Psychology

Agenda

Tempe Mission Palms Hotel, AZ

May 2-4, 2002

Thursday, May 2

Reception

Dinner

Opening Session: Welcome and Remarks

  • Mabel Rice, Merrill Center at the University of Kansas
  • Steven Warren, Life Span Institute, University of Kansas
  • Peggy McCardle, Associate Branch Chief, NICHD

Social Hour

Friday, May 3

Breakfast

Panel 1: Diagnosis and Symptoms of Language Impairments: Specific Language Impairment and Autism

  • Helen Tager-Flusberg, Boston University Medical School, “Do Autism and SLI Represent Overlapping Language Disorders?”
  • Catherine Lord, University of Michigan
  • J. Bruce Tomblin, University of Iowa, “Issues in the Diagnosis of SLI”

Panel 1 Discussion – Moderator, Steven Warren

Lunch

Panel 2: Diagnosis and Symptoms of Language Impairments: Williams syndrome, Fragile X, Down syndrome

  • Leonard Abbeduto, University of Wisconsin at Madison, “Language, Social Cognition, Maladaptive Behavior & Communication in Down syndrome and Fragile X syndrome”
  • Andrea Zukowski, University of Maryland, “Assessing Complex Syntax in Williams syndrome: Challenges & Benefits of Experimental Studies”
  • Don Bailey, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, “Research on Fragile X syndrome and Autism: Implications for the Study of Genes, Environments, and Developmental Language Disorders”

Panel 2 Discussion – Moderator, Travis Thompson

Break

Panel 3: Investigating Language Impairments across Diagnostic Categories

  • Carolyn Mervis, University of Louisville, “Next Steps in Research”
  • Steven Warren, University of Kansas, “Intervention as Experiment”
  • Mabel Rice, University of Kansas, “Language Impairments across Clinical Conditions: In Search of a Unified Model”

Panel 3 Discussion – Moderator, Kathleen McCluskey-Fawcett

Dinner

Saturday, May 4

Breakfast

Panel 4: Integrating Brains, Genetics and Behavior: How to Look at Inherited Factors

  • R. Axel Mueller, San Diego State University
  • Shelley Smith, University of Nebraska Medical Center, “Localization and Identification of Genes Affecting Language and Learning”
  • Colleen Morris, University of Nevada Medical School, “Genotype/Phenotype Correlation: Lessons from Williams syndrome Studies”

Panel 4 Discussion – Moderator, Colin Phillips

Break

Panel 5: Reactions and Discussion: Research Action Steps for the Short and Long Term

  • Travis Thompson, University of Kansas Medical Center
  • Peggy McCardle, NICHD

Panel 5 Discussion – Moderator, Mabel Rice

Lunch an departure