Individual Differences in Language Development, Vol. 7 Book

	Series Editor's Preface
	Preface
1	Introduction: The Importance of Differences in Language Development	1
2	Characterizing the Nature of the Differences	13
3	Are There Styles of Language Development?	45
	Strengths and Weaknesses	48
	Generalized Patterns: Correlated Tendencies	49
	Persistence Over Time	51
	Relation to General Developmental Level	61
	Are There Styles of Language Development?	68
4	Explanations for Individual Differences in Language Development	71
	General Environmental Explanations	72
	Social Explanations	74
	Nelson's Cognitive-Social Interactional Model	79
	Cognitive Internal Explanations	84
	Internal Explanations	89
	Language-Specific Internal Explanations	95
	Explanations Involving the Language System	96
	Why Do Children Differ in Their Approach to Language Acquisition?	100
5	Conclusions and Future Directions	104
	Where Are We?	104
	Where Do We Go From Here?	106
	New Directions in Language Development Theories and Their Relationship to Individual Differences	111
	Ecological Theory	112
	Chaos Theory	113
	Parallel-Distributed Processing (PDP) or Connectionism	116
	Common Themes in Ecological, Chaos, and Connectionist Theories and How They Apply to Individual Differences	119
	What Can Individual Differences Tell Us About the Mechanisms of Language Development?	121
	Theoretical Implications: Modularity Theories and Nativism	123
	Toward an Alternative Theory	125
	References	128
	Name Index	136
	Subject Index	140
	About the Author	148