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UNDERSTANDING THE LANGUAGE OF CHILDREN: COMMUNICATION AND LINGUISTIC SENSITIVITY IN FORENSIC INTERVIEWS - PART 1 and 2

Presenters: Julie Kenniston

Abstract Category: Interviewing 

Instruction Level:

Presentation: Click Here

Description:

Children do not speak the same language as adults. However, in the words of Anne Graffam Walker, "even very young children can tell us what they know if we ask them the right questions in the right way." This presentation will focus on ways to minimize miscommunication with children in forensic interviews.

ABSTRACT:

Children acquire language in a cultural context.  The meaning of words does not come as quickly as the use of those words when communicating.  Some words are less reliable, such as pronouns and prepositions.  Other words are not reliable because the cognitive processes needed to understand the use of these words have not been mastered by the child.  This presentation will provide information on children’s use of language as preschoolers and as school-aged children.  The content is based on language acquisition for groups of developmentally on target children in normal ranges.  These concepts will be applied to the process of gathering information from children in forensic interviews.  By understanding children’s abilities to communicate, a forensic interview can be linguistically sensitive to the child’s needs and be conducted in a legally sound manner.