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Lookup NU author(s): Dr Thomas Klee, Professor Stephanie Stokes
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Several proposals have been made for what might constitute a clinical marker of specific language impairment in children. While the sensitivity and specificity of some candidate markers have been reported, information regarding likelihood ratios, confidence intervals, and post-test probabilities is usually absent. This chapter begins with a summary of how various candidate markers compare on these measures. A new composite index based on utterance length (MLU), lexical diversity (D) and age originally developed with Cantonese-speaking children (Klee, Stokes, Wong, Fletcher & Gavin, 2004) was then examined in English-speaking children between 24-48 months of age with and without language difficulties. In a sample of 152 British and American children, MLU and D were each highly correlated with age but varied as a function of gender and nationality. In a sample of children with and without SLI, the index was more accurate in differentiating 3-year-olds with and without language difficulties than it was in differentiating 2-year-olds. The index compares favorably with other candidate markers but requires validation employing a larger sample.
Author(s): Klee T, Gavin WJ, Stokes SF
Editor(s): Rhea, P
Publication type: Book Chapter
Publication status: Published
Book Title: Language Disorders From a Developmental Perspective: Essays in Honor of Robin S. Chapman
Year: 2007
Pages: 103-140
Edition: 1st
Series Title: New Directions in Communication Disorders Research
Publisher: Lawrence Erlbaum
Place Published: Mahwah, NJ
Library holdings: Search Newcastle University Library for this item
ISBN: 9780805850376
