How do children learn language?

We are currently investigating how monolingual English-speaking boys and girls between 2-5 1/2 years of age learn language.  The study involves 2-3 visits to the Department of Speech and Hearing Science at OSU.  During each visit, children participate in standardized testing to assess social-communication skills and cognition, watch a short video, and are taught a name for an unfamiliar object.  We will use the information that we gain from this research study to gain insight into how language learning in children with and without autism spectrum disorders overlaps and diverges.