Despite the fact that Dr. Ripley's Youtube video felt like an infomercial, the man had one point that stuck with me long after the cheesy testimonials faded from the screen. Like so many others, Dr. Ripley discussed how some children grew up without adequate talk from the adults in their lives, which leaves those children with a huge vocabulary gap by the time they reach school age. Also like others, he mentioned that the kind of talk children receive in what he termed "taciturn" families tends to be more imperative form - come here, stop that, put that down, get off the furniture, etc.
What set Dr. Ripley apart, however, was the extension he makes with these findings not just to literacy development, but the emotional development of a child raised in such circumstances. What talk that child receives in almost always corrective or punitive. It's easy to see how this would be damaging to that child's sense of self-worth and self-efficacy. I'm sure in many cases it would lead to a sense of inadequacy. Coupled with already being behind linguistically, many of these kids would not have the emotional wherewithal to bounce back and thrive in the face of such looming obstacles. It makes me wonder if there's any correlation between lack of sufficient talk in formative years and instances of learned helplessness in individuals.
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