The Relationship between Language Ages of Preschool Children Derived from a Parent Informant Scale and Language Ages Derived from Tests Administered Directly to the Preschool Child

Abstract

This study compared mothers' descriptions of their preschool children's language skills with the language skills their children demonstrate in a direct testing situation to determine if information from mothers is consistent with the information gained from testing the child. The children and their mothers were interviewed individually. The Verbal Language Development Scale, an informant scale, was administered to each mother. The Utah Test of Language Development, an individual standardized test, was administered to each child. A correlational design was used to compare the language age of the preschool child obtained from the informant scale with the test administered to the child. The results of the study indicated that the mother's description of her preschool child's language skills was in agreement with results obtained in testing the child. Thirty-five preschool children, ages two to five years, referred to the Fairfax County Public Schools Diagnostic Center, Fairfax County, Virginia, were included in the study.