Statistical Learning in Late Talkers and Normal Peers

BACKGROUND: Late talkers (LTs) are children under three with poor vocabularies and no developmental problems. Statistical learning (SL) is defined as processing or learning patterns of environmental stimuli, for example, spoken language, music, or motor, that will unfold in time. We hypothesize if some LTs outgrow as developmental language disorder, they might be identified using SL tasks at the onset. We aimed to find any correlation between language measures and SL outcomes in LTs and normal children (NC). MATERIALS AND METHODS: Sixteen pairs of LTs and NCs were recruited using a convenient sampling method from day-care centers and speech therapy clinics of the Comprehensive Center for Child Development in Isfahan city, Iran. Visual sequences presented using Habit software version 2.2.4. Children’s eye movements to visual sequences were monitored, and their reaction times and the number of anticipatory looks were analyzed offline. The language measures were determined in the free-play context. RESULTS: Results indicated no significant correlation between SL and language measures and no difference observed in SL between the groups (P = 0.73). CONCLUSIONS: The results may refer to no overt correlation between SL and delayed overall linguistic measures along with inadequate samples, children’s fatigue, or insufficiency of the visual task in presenting SL.