Action Imitation At 11/2 Years Is Better Than Pointing Gesture In Predicting Late Development Of Language Production At 3 Years Of Age

This study examined whether poor pointing gestures and imitative actions at 18months of age uniquely predicted late language production at 36months, beyond the role of poor language at 18months of age. Data from the Norwegian Mother and Child Cohort Study were utilized. Maternal reports of the children's nonverbal skills and language were gathered for 42,517 children aged 18months and for 28,107 of the same children at 36months. Panel analysis of latent variables revealed that imitative actions, language comprehension, and language production uniquely contributed to predicting late development of language production, while pointing gestures did not. It is suggested that the results can be explained by underlying symbolic representational skills at 18months.