Language Delay and Disorders 11Head Start provides language stimulation, and Blake’s enrollment in the program is helpful.
However, because of his delayed language acquisition, he sees the speech- language pathologist to
learn age- appropriate vocabulary and to develop other aspects of language. The therapy and the
Head Start program soon provide the stimulation and conditions necessary for Blake to catch up
to his peers. By the time Blake enters first grade, his language is age appropriate and he enjoys the
best of both worlds.
Case Study 1-2: Idioglossia
Chris and Karl were not twins, but they were very close in age. Chris was older by 11 months,
and when Karl was born, it was too much for their mother. Eventually she took a job in California,
leaving the children in the very competent hands of their grand mother. A traditional Navajo, the
grand mother lived in a remote region of the reservation, tending sheep, growing corn, and hav-
ing little contact with others. For nearly 4 years, Chris and Karl played almost exclusively with
each other. Their grand mother spoke little En glish and was quiet and reserved, rarely talking to
the children. Chris and Karl soon developed their own unique language. It was a curious mix of
En glish and Navajo, with several sounds not heard in any language of the Southwest. When Chris
and Karl were about 5, their mother assumed custody of them, moved to a small town in New
Mexico, and enrolled them in Head Start.
As often happens during screenings, there was little detailed background information about
the children. During the morning session, a clinician told the supervisor that she was perplexed
about Chris and Karl’s language, which appeared to be unlike any spoken at the center. The Navajo
interpreter listened carefully to them talk and said that although she could recognize some Navajo
sounds, their language was no dialect of Navajo she had ever heard. The Spanish interpreter made
similar comments. The Apache bus driver for the center also said that the children were not speak-
ing his language.
The teachers, aides, and diagnostic team watched Chris and Karl interact verbally. What they
saw was remarkable and left an indelible impression on them. The boys played together in the
corner of the Head Start classroom, ignoring other children and adults. The activity was a block-
building game in which the goal was to create a tower. Chris took the lead, pointed to several
colorful plastic blocks, and then uttered what appeared to be a four- or five- word statement to
Karl. None of the words he used were En glish, Navajo, Spanish, Apache, or apparently any other
established language. But it was functional for the boys, and Karl immediately took the smaller
blocks from the tower and replaced them with larger ones. He replied using their unique language,
which was understood only by Chris. The adults watched them talk for nearly an hour and were
mystified. Their language appeared to have more than 100 words spoken and understood only by
the children. Although the language was difficult to assess, it appeared to have a complex gram-
mar and syntax. Interestingly, the boys avoided other children and made no attempt to talk with
them in En glish or Navajo. They refused to allow other children to play with them and physically
removed them from the games. The teachers at the Head Start center said that the children were
inseparable and would cry when apart.
It would have been eye opening to study Chris and Karl’s idioglossia. Their language could
have been analyzed for form and content and a dictionary constructed. What the diagnostic team
witnessed was the birth of a new language, and to have followed its development throughout the
children’s lives would have been enlightening— especially if Chris and Karl had returned to the
reservation and continued to mature in relative isolation. But, of course, the educational, social,
and psychological needs of the brothers far outweighed the scientific benefits of such a study.
Consequently, a strategy for eliminating the idioglossia was developed after conferences with the