Homonym Comprehension and Definition of School-Aged Children with Language Learning Disabilities in First to Third Grades

Purpose: This study aimed to investigate the ability to define and comprehend homonyms among lower elementary school children with language learning disabilities (LLD). Methods: A total of 23 students, consisting of 10 LLD students and 13 typically developing (TD) students, were recruited for this study. All students were tested to check their ability to define and understand homonyms. Results: Comparing the two groups, the overall definition accuracy and comprehension ability of homonyms were significantly lower in the LLD group than the TD group. In addition, when comparing the accuracy of individual definitions and ability to comprehend homophones according to the conditions (dominant/subordinate meaning) between the two groups, the LLD group showed lower performance than the TD group in both abilities. Both groups were found to have more difficulty with the subordinate meaning than with the dominant meaning. LLD group has difficulties at defining homonym than TD group in both meanings. On the other hand, the LLD group showed lower performance than the TD group in their ability to comprehend the subordinate meaning. There was no difference between the two groups in the ability to understand the dominant meaning. Conclusion: Therefore, when determining interventions for grade 1 to 3 students having learning disabilities, proper contextual clues should be used to improve their homonym comprehension.