Identification of early risk factors for language impairment

Abstract

The current study is a population-based investigation of birth risk factors for school-identified specific language impairment (SLI). The sample consisted of 244,619 students (5862 SLI) born in Florida between 1989 and 1990 who were in the Florida public school system at ages 6–7. Epidemiological measures of effect were used to investigate both individual- and population-level risk for SLI. Very low birth weight (VLBW), low 5-min Apgar score, late or no prenatal care, high birth order, and low maternal education were associated with highest individual-level risk. Low maternal education and having an unmarried mother was associated with the highest population-level risk. The results not only suggest who needs to be screened for a future developmental disability, but identify a group of children who are at-risk for an SLI placement in school. Early intervention services for these children may be the most effective approach to reducing the incidence of school-identified SLI.