Helms, Suzanne B.
Mayo Clinic
Suzanne B. Helms completed her BA degree in psychology and her MA in speech pathology at the University of Maine, Orono. She is presently working at the Northeast Hearing and Speech Center as a clinician and superoisor of speech and hearing services, Portl
Citations 1
Hemispheric Language Dominance of Language-Disordered, Articulation-Disordered, and Normal Children
Pettit, John M., Helms, Suzanne B.
Journal of Learning Disabilities | December 22, 2008 | Volume: 12 | Issue: 2 | Pages: 71-76
This study compared the hemispheric dominance for language of three groups of 6- to 9-year-olds (10 language-disordered, 10 articulation-disordered, and 10 normal children). Two dichotic listening tests (digits and animal names) were administered. Statistical analysis revealed a left hemisphere dominance for the control and articulation-disordered groups but no significant hemisphere differences for the language-disordered group. The results support the hypothesis that the language-disordered child has an unlateralized cerebral dominance for language, while the articulation-disordered child has normal left cerebral hemisphere dominance for language. Furthermore, there is some evidence to suggest that the language-disordered child does not process auditory stimuli in the left hemisphere as efficiently as the articulation-disordered or normal child. These results also suggest the importance of developing strategies in the management of these disorders.