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Several studies have shown that specific language impairment (SLI) often persists into adulthood, but few studies have explored the nature of SLI in adulthood, and very little is known about effective assessment of SLI in this population. The participants for this study were 18 adults with typical language and 13 adults with SLI. The presence or absence of SLI was determined using two standardized language tests, speech-language and academic history, and screening tests of hearing impairment and cognitive deficits. The participants completed three tasks known to be potential clinical markers for specific language impairment in children but rarely investigated in adults with SLI: nonword repetition, sentence repetition, and grammaticality judgments of finiteness marking. Comparisons were made between adults with SLI and typical language peers. Significant group differences were found on all three tasks. Outcomes provide much needed evidence on the nature of SLI in adults including evidence that deficits in finiteness marking are not fully resolved by adulthood in individuals with SLI. |
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