Project Prospectus

How can parents know if their child is a late-talker or has a developmental language delay?

1. What defines a late-talker?
2. What defines a developmental language disorder?
3. What are some characteristics of late-talkers?
4. What are some characteristics of developmental language disorders?
5. At what age is it apparent that a child is a late-talker or if he/she has a language disorder?
6. At what age should a parent seek therapy?

The point that I plan to make is that not all late-talkers are disordered. I plan to show some distinguished differences between the two. Through my research, I plan to help others learn those differences.

The genres that I plan to use include:
· Webliography—Clinician Voice
· PowerPoint Presentation—Clinician Voice
· Poem—Clinician Voice
· Journal Entry—Parent Voice
· Letter to Parent—Client Voice
· Interview Transcript—Clinician Voice
· E-mail Exchange-- Parent Voice and Friends

I plan to use my e-mail exchange as my unifying genre. It will contain bits and pieces from everyone of my other genres.

Tentative Resources:
1) Collins, J., Cooper, L., & Parenti M. (2001). Information on late-talkers and deviant
speech. Can You Tell the Difference Between Delayed Speech and Deviant Speech? [Online]. Available http://www.geocities.com/latetalkers/page2.htm
2) Patterson, J. Late-talkers are at risk for language impairment. Expressive Vocabulary of Bilingual Toddlers: Preliminary Findings [Online]. Available http://www.asha.ucf.edu/patterson.html

Week 5 is officially over, and I am glad! This week was a very stressful week for me. I am hoping that week 6 will be better. For this class, I set out to finish week 4 and week 5 assignments. I have yet to do either one. I still have one assignment in each to complete. I plan on doing them after I finish my journal. I would like to finish them before tomorrow because I have other homework that I need to do (Spanish—YAK!). I would also like to finish them so that when week 6 assignments are posted, I won’t have to worry about previous work.
The content addressed this week mainly pertained to our Multigenre Research Project (MRP). I evaluated resources using different evaluation formats. I reflected on my evaluations. I also read the instructions for the MRP. I still have to do my Project Prospectus and my library search. I also plan on updating my webliography.
The processes that I utilized in completing my work this week involved much motivation. As always, Julie and I went to the computer labs in Smith Hall in between our classes. We had a new buddy with us this week to work with. Cindy came along with us, which was lots of fun. It helps a lot to have people to work with. If I have a question or if they have a question, we can TRY to help each other. I emphasize try because none of us really know what is going on.
This week I learned new ways to evaluate web sources, which will help me when searching sources for my MRP. I also learned that I need to consider these evaluations when forming my own website because others are going to be viewing my page for information. I will try to be as reliable and credible as possible. I want people to enjoy my website and know that I worked hard on it.
I don’t really have any questions at the moment. I am sure I probably will as I progress in my work, but as for now I am question free.

-Abbye