Diagnosis Of Developmental Language Disorder Research Articles

A First Estimate of the Prevalence of Developmental Language Disorder in Mexico: A Retrospective Study

AbstractThis was a retrospective study that aimed to provide a first estimate of the prevalence of developmental language disorder (DLD) in Mexico, where there is currently a lack of epidemiological data on this disorder. Children aged 4;0 to 6;11 years in the cities of Mexico, Queretaro, and Monterrey were classified into two groups: those with DLD (N = 46) and those with typical language development (N = 497). The diagnosis of DLD was based on standardized norm-referenced assessment and language sample analyses. Children with other disabilities were excluded from the final sample. The final sample consisted of 543 children (55% male; 45% female) aged 4;0 to 6;11 years. The estimated prevalence of DLD was 8.5%. The study has clinical implications given that the prevalence of DLD in Mexico may raise awareness of this long-lasting disorder and may help health and educational authorities establish a system to early identify and diagnose children with DLD.

Where to start: Use of the bilingual multidimensional ability scale (B-MAS) to identify developmental language disorder (DLD) in bilingual children

Purpose The identification of developmental language disorder (DLD) is challenging for clinicians who assess bilinguals. This paper introduces a protocol-based approach, the Bilingual Multidimensional Ability Scale (B-MAS), for expert raters to identify DLD in bilinguals. Method Three bilingual speech-language pathologists (SLPs) reviewed 166 Spanish-English bilingual children’s profiles, which included performance on direct (morphosyntax, semantics, and narrative tasks) and indirect (parent/teacher survey) measures in both languages. A multidimensional scale (0–5) was adopted to rate children’s performance. A diagnosis of DLD was made if at least two raters assigned a summary rating of ≤2. Result Analysis of the scores on the B-MAS resulted in the identification of 21 children as having DLD. Though different strategies were employed to make decisions, the three SLPs demonstrated high inter-rater agreement across different ratings (intraclass correlation coefficient values ranged from .83 to .90). Conclusion For bilingual populations that are understudied and for which gold standards of assessment are not available, the B-MAS can be adopted as a starting point to study DLD or as a reference standard to develop new assessment tools in that population. Clinically, this protocol could be tailored and evaluated by a group of SLPs serving a large population of a particular bilingual group for diagnostic purposes.

Effectiveness of a group intervention for lexical enrichment in 6-to-10-year-old children with developmental language disorder

Many children with developmental language disorder (DLD) have a vocabulary deficit. One of the most effective interventions for increasing children's lexicon size is the semantic and phonological approach, an approach that has been used mainly with adolescents. The goals of our study are (1) to test whether the semantic-phonological approach coupled with rich vocabulary instruction is effective with younger children with DLD on words learned during the training and (2) to check whether the gains can be maintained over the long term. A group of eight French-speaking children (aged 6 to 10), with a diagnosis of DLD, underwent a phonological-semantic group intervention over 5 months. Four lists (vegetables, animals, school materials, and sports) of words were trained, each category involving 3-hour sessions. Five-word lists (L1, L2, L3, L4, and L5) corresponded to the four trained categories and one served as control. When L1 words were trained, L2 served as the control list; then when L2 words were trained, L3 was the control list, and so on. The group results indicated significant improvement on the four trained lists once intervention was introduced, and no improvement on the control lists. All effects were maintained over the long term at the delayed posttest. Individual outcomes were dependent on children's cognitive and language profiles. Vocabulary training thus allowed young French-speaking children with DLD to enrich their vocabulary on specific measures. The implications of the results are discussed at the group and individual level.

Exploring the uptake of CATALISE recommendations from the perspective of speech and language therapists working in the Irish context: A qualitative online survey

BACKGROUND: The Irish Association of Speech and Language Therapists (IASLT) has led on a series of implementation efforts since the publication of recommendations regarding terminology and diagnosis of developmental language disorder (DLD) by the CATALISE Consortium in 2017. OBJECTIVE: To explore the views of speech and language therapists (SLTs) about the effectiveness of IASLT dissemination efforts in relation to the CATALISE recommendations to inform the development of a national DLD implementation strategy. METHODS: A self-administered qualitative e-survey was designed. A purposive sample of SLTs working in Ireland was recruited using a maximum variation strategy. The survey included closed and open questions. Qualitative data were analysed deductively using constructs from the Consolidation Framework for Implementation Research. Findings were integrated using concepts from the RE-AIM framework. RESULTS: Dissemination methods were considered effective at the preadoption stage. However, barriers to early use of the CATALISE recommendations were identified related to low practitioner self-concept, the complex nature of the required practice changes, and a lack of compatibility with service pathways. Misalignment across health and education policy was identified as a barrier to uptake of the recommendations for those working in schools. Ongoing opportunities for case-based discussion was viewed as an important component of future implementation efforts. The importance of engaged leadership in overcoming implementation barriers is also highlighted. CONCLUSIONS: A targeted multi-level implementation strategy developed by an inclusive stakeholder network including speech and language therapy managers is required to support the full adoption of the CATALISE recommendations into policy, service, and practice in the Irish context.

Grammatical development in both languages of bilingual Turkish-Dutch children with and without Developmental Language Disorder

IntroductionTo guarantee a reliable diagnosis of Developmental Language Disorder (DLD) in bilingual children, evaluating both languages is recommended. However, little is known about how DLD impacts the heritage language, and it is largely unknown whether bilingual children with DLD develop the heritage language at the same pace as their peers with typical development (TD).MethodsFor this longitudinal study that focused on children's grammatical development, we analyzed semi-spontaneous speech samples of 10 Turkish-Dutch children with DLD (bi-DLD) and 10 Turkish-Dutch children with typical development (bi-TD). Children were 5 or 6 years old at the first wave of data collection, and there were three waves of longitudinal data collection with 1-year intervals. In addition, data from 20 monolingual Dutch controls were analyzed (10 mono-DLD, 10 mono-TD).Results and discussionResults indicate that heritage language assessment can inform clinical diagnosis. In the case of Turkish spoken in the Netherlands, short sentences, the absence of the genitive suffix in simple constructions and avoidance of complex constructions that require possessive marking could potentially be clinical markers of DLD. Accusative case errors are also relatively frequent in bilingual Turkish-Dutch children with DLD, but these are less promising as a clinical marker because previous research suggests that omission and substitution of accusative case can be part of the input to Turkish heritage language learners. In Dutch, frequent omission of grammatical morphemes in the verbal domain coupled with a limited amount of overregularization errors could indicate that a child is at risk for DLD, both in bilingual and monolingual contexts. Cross-linguistic comparisons of error types in Turkish and Dutch confirm that, regardless of typological differences, children with DLD use short sentences, avoid complex structures, and omit grammatical morphemes. Longitudinal analyses revealed that children with DLD can develop the heritage language at the same pace as TD children, even if this language is not supported at school. Strong intergenerational transmission and heritage language maintenance among Turkish migrants in the Netherlands may be key.

The Interplay of Emotions, Executive Functions, Memory and Language: Challenges for Refugee Children

Refugee children tend to show low emotional well-being and weak executive functions that may have consequences on language and therefore complicate a potential diagnosis of Developmental Language Disorder (DLD) in this population. We assessed the performance of 140 children living in Switzerland aged 5 to 8 (20 monolinguals, 86 non-refugee bilinguals, 34 refugee bilinguals) on LITMUS language tasks (nonword repetition, sentence repetition, parental questionnaire), standardized language tasks, memory and executive function tasks. Parents also filled in the Child Behavior Checklist providing a measure of their child’s emotional well-being. Results indicate that refugee children are more emotionally vulnerable and show weaker performance in memory and executive functions tasks compared to non-refugee children, in line with the existing literature. Moreover, when compared to non-refugee bilingual children with similar length of exposure to French, refugee children are disadvantaged on all language tasks. Whereas emotional well-being does not predict language performance, memory and executive functions show up as predictors of both LITMUS and standardized language tasks, although in an unsystematic way. It is concluded that refugee children are at risk across the board and that a better understanding of the complex interplay between well-being, executive functions, memory and language is needed in order to build more appropriate diagnostic tools for these children.

Investigating Narrative Performance in Children With Developmental Language Disorder: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

Narrative assessment is one potentially underutilized and inconsistent method speech-language pathologists may use when considering a diagnosis of developmental language disorder (DLD). However, narration research encompasses many varied methodologies. This systematic review and meta-analysis aimed to (a) investigate how various narrative assessment types (e.g., macrostructure, microstructure, and internal state language) differentiate children with typical development (TD) from children with DLD, (b) identify specific narrative assessment measures that result in greater group differences, and (c) evaluate participant and sample characteristics that may influence performance differences. Electronic databases (PsycINFO, ERIC, and PubMed) and ASHAWire were searched on July 30, 2019, to locate studies that reported oral narrative language measures for both DLD and TD groups between ages 4 and 12 years; studies focusing on written narration or other developmental disorders only were excluded. We extracted data related to sample participants, narrative task(s) and assessment measures, and research design. Group differences were quantified using standardized mean differences. Analyses used mixed-effects meta-regression with robust variance estimation to account for effect size dependencies. Searches identified 37 eligible studies published between 1987 and 2019, including 382 effect sizes. Overall meta-analysis showed that children with DLD had decreased narrative performance relative to TD peers, with an overall average effect of -0.82 SD, 95% confidence interval [-0.99, -0.66]. Effect sizes showed significant heterogeneity both between and within studies, even after accounting for effect size-, sample-, and study-level predictors. Across model specifications, grammatical accuracy (microstructure) and story grammar (macrostructure) yielded the most consistent evidence of TD-DLD group differences. Present findings suggest some narrative assessment measures yield significantly different performance between children with and without DLD. However, researchers need to improve consistency of inclusionary criteria, descriptions of sample characteristics, and reporting of correlations between measures to determine which assessment measures reliably distinguish between groups. https://doi.org/10.23641/asha.21200380.

The impact of developmental language disorder in a defendant's description on mock jurors' perceptions and judgements.

While it has been posited that young people with language needs may be viewed more negatively (e.g., as more rude, less cooperative) than those without language needs, the impact of knowing about a person's language needs on others' perceptions has yet to experimentally tested. To examine whether the presence of a developmental language disorder (DLD) diagnosis in a defendant's information would affect mock juror ratings of guilt, sentence length, credibility and blameworthiness. A total of 143 jury eligible participants read a vignette of a non-violent crime. Half of the participants (N = 73) were told the defendant has a diagnosis of DLD, while half (N = 70) were not told. Preregistered analyses found that DLD information affected ratings of credibility and blameworthiness, though not judgements of guilt or sentence length. Unregistered content analyses were applied to the justifications participants gave for their ratings: these suggested that participants who did not have the DLD information judged the defendant more on his personality and attitude, and drew more links to his (perceived) background, while participants who received the DLD information condition made more reference to him having cognitive problems. Unlike in previous studies of the impact of autism information, information about a defendant's DLD did not affect mock jurors' likelihood of finding them guilty, or lead participants to give longer sentences. However, our findings suggest knowing a person has DLD does affect others' perceptions of credibility and blameworthiness. What is already known on the subject There is already evidence that some conditions that affect communication, specifically autism, also affect juror perceptions. Research also shows that knowing whether or not a defendant has autism influences how jurors rate defendants. However, autism is not the only condition that is relevant to juror perceptions, as we also know that a high rate of young offenders have language needs, and many have language profiles like DLD. What this paper adds to existing knowledge There is little research on how behaviours associated with DLD impact others' perceptions. This study reports the impact of knowing about a defendant's DLD on juror perceptions, investigating whether knowing about DLD improves judgements on guilt, sentencing lengths, credibility and culpability. Beyond the content of youth offending, this study suggests behaviours associated with DLD lead people to form more negative judgements about youth with DLD. This is important because there is still a lack of awareness of DLD both in- and outside the criminal justice system. What are the potential or actual clinical implications of this work? This study shows that knowing about a person's DLD has largely positive effects on others' perceptions of them. This implies that recognizing undetected language needs in young offenders, and supporting colleagues and members of the public to know what DLD is and how it affects people, is critical for youth with DLD to be judged fairly. This study will support the case for raising awareness of vulnerability within the youth justice population, and will assist in clinicians evidencing the need for our roles in justice settings.

An Investigation of Developmental Coordination Disorder Characteristics in Children With Childhood Apraxia of Speech.

Children with childhood apraxia of speech (CAS) evidence a high rate of co-occurring fine and gross motor deficits. This clinical focus article reports a preliminary investigation of characteristics of developmental coordination disorder (DCD), a neurodevelopmental disorder categorized by poor motor proficiency and functional limitations, in this population. Children with CAS underwent a comprehensive motor evaluation using the Movement Assessment Battery for Children-Second Edition, the Developmental Coordination Disorder Questionnaire, and a developmental history questionnaire to determine if they met criteria for a DCD diagnosis as specified in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition (DSM-5). Six out of seven participants met DCD criteria based on the DSM-5 criteria. Four of these children had a co-occurring diagnosis of developmental language disorder, and all met criteria for DCD. Consistent with previous research, the majority of participants demonstrated motor deficits and 85% met criteria for DCD. Despite this high rate of motor deficits, only 57% had previously undergone a physical/occupational therapy evaluation and intervention and only one had a previous diagnosis of DCD. These findings suggest that formal movement assessments are essential for children with a CAS diagnosis. https://doi.org/10.23641/asha.20540193.

SPICES: Disclosure Practices to Help Caregivers Digest a Diagnosis of Developmental Language Disorder.

Recent studies of the experiences of caregivers of children with language disorders have suggested that speech-language pathologists (SLPs) are not clearly and effectively providing caregivers with a comprehensible diagnostic term for their child's difficulties. Since the work of the CATALISE consortium, there has been a mounting consensus around the use of the term developmental language disorder (DLD) to identify primary, persistent language problems beginning in childhood. Thanks to the increasing unification of SLPs around the term DLD, the time is ripe to directly address clinical practices in delivering a diagnosis to caregivers in ways they can understand, retain, and use to build connection and drive advocacy efforts. In this tutorial, the authors review the SPIKES model, used by physicians to structure diagnostic disclosure conversations. Drawing upon research examining caregiver experiences of receiving a range of developmental diagnoses, we have adapted the SPIKES model to meet the needs of SLPs and their clients. The authors present the SPICES model for planning and executing sensitive and effective disclosure of a DLD diagnosis.

The Divergent Nature of Language Performance and Social Use of Language: An Online Scale for the Assessment of Language in Adults Using Self-reported Skills (ALASS)

The Assessment of Language in Adults using Self-reported Skills (ALASS) is an online tool aimed at providing a rapid indication of language-related skills at two levels: basic performance and social use. In Study 1, we have developed and validated a new tool with two objective measures: a lexical decision test and a grammaticality judgement test, completed online by 280 participants (204 women, 69 men, 7 undisclosed, age: M = 24.4 years; SD = 11.1). Results show that ALASS is a good predictor of the outcomes for reaction times in the objective measures. In study 2, we have run further analyses with a subset of 209 adults (157 women, 47 men, 5 undisclosed; age: M = 20.9 years; SD = 5.8) to validate the social implications of ALASS with another online study, also showing a considerable explanatory power in this case, and strengthening the divergent nature of language when it is used with a social purpose against a more cognitive function (i.e. literacy and language production and comprehension). Considering its explanatory power for lexical performance, we believe that the scale has a potential applicability in the assessment of adults that could have missed a diagnosis of Developmental Language Disorder during childhood.

Identifying Language Disorder in Bilingual Children Using Automatic Speech Recognition.

The differential diagnosis of developmental language disorder (DLD) in bilingual children represents a unique challenge due to their distributed language exposure and knowledge. The current evidence indicates that dual-language testing yields the most accurate classification of DLD among bilinguals, but there are limited personnel and resources to support this practice. The purpose of this study was therefore to determine the feasibility of dual-language automatic speech recognition (ASR) for identifying DLD in bilingual children. Eighty-four Spanish-English bilingual second graders with (n = 25) and without (n = 59) confirmed diagnoses of DLD completed the Bilingual English-Spanish Assessment-Middle Extension Morphosyntax in both languages. Their responses on a subset of items were scored manually by human examiners and programmatically by a researcher-developed ASR application employing a commercial speech-to-text algorithm. Results demonstrated moderate overall item-by-item scoring agreement (k = .54) and similar classification accuracy values (human = 92%, ASR = 88%) between the two methods using the best-language score. Classification accuracy of the ASR method increased to 94% of cases correctly classified when test items with poorer discrimination in the ASR condition were eliminated. This study provides preliminary support for the technical feasibility of ASR as a bilingual expressive language assessment tool. https://doi.org/10.23641/asha.20249994.

Parent Questionnaires in Screening for Developmental Language Disorder Among Bilingual Children in Speech and Language Clinics

Screening for Developmental Language Disorder (DLD) among bilingual children in Speech and Language Clinics is challenged by the use of Societal Language (SL) monolingual norms and by the absence of knowledge about children’s performance in the Home Language (HL) leading to over diagnosis of DLD among bilingual children. The current study examined how bilingual parents’ questionnaire can contribute to a more accurate clinical protocol that can help mitigate the diagnosis difficulties and help disentangle the impact of bilingualism from DLD. Parents of 75 bilingual children (ages 48–82 months) participated in this study. Forty six children were referred to Speech and Language Pathologists (SLPs) due to language performance difficulties (Clinically Referred- CR) and 29 were never referred to a SLP (Non-referred- NR). Of the CR group only 19 were diagnosed by the SLP with DLD using dynamic assessment (CR-DLD), while 27 were diagnosed as having typical language development (CR-TLD). Parents of all children filled a Bilingual Parent Questionnaire (BIPAQ), developed from a SLP’s perspective, ith information in five domains: (a) Demographic Information, (b) Developmental background, (c) HL abilities, (d) SL abilities, and (e) Quantity and quality of exposure to both HL and SL. Significantly lower scores were observed for the CR-DLD group compared to the other groups on Developmental background, HL abilities, and SL abilities as well as on the total score. Sentence complexity, difference from other children in language development, and family history significantly distinguished between the CR-DLD and CR-TLD groups. Sentence complexity, difference from other children in language development, and confidence speaking freely distinguished between CR-DLD and NR children. No significant difference was observed between CR-TLD and NR children. A comparison of the CR- DLD and the CR-TLD bilinguals using a ROC curve analysis yielded good sensitivity and specificity, as well as good accuracy (AUC = 0.869). Our findings show that parent questionnaires can be a valuable part of diagnosis protocol and provide missing information needed for more accurate diagnosis before treatment commences, allowing clinicians alternative options of treatment as well as reducing caseloads at clinics.

Do Spoken Vocabulary and Gestural Production Distinguish Children with Transient Language Delay from Children Who Will Show Developmental Language Disorder? A Pilot Study.

The literature on the role of gestures in children with language delay (LD) is partial and controversial. The present study explores gestural production and modality of expression in children with LD and semantic and temporal relationships between gestures and words in gesture + word combinations. Thirty-three children participated (mean age, 26 months), who were recruited through a screening programme for LD. Cognitive skills, lexical abilities, and the use of spontaneous gestures in a naming task were evaluated when the children were 32 months old. When the children were 78 months old, their parents were interviewed to collect information about an eventual diagnosis of developmental language disorder (DLD). According to these data, the children fell into three groups: children with typical development (n = 13), children with LD who did not show DLD (transient LD; n = 9), and children with LD who showed DLD (n = 11). No significant differences emerged between the three groups for cognitive and lexical skills (comprehension and production), for number of gestures spontaneously produced, and for the sematic relationships between gestures and words. Differences emerged in the modality of expression, where children with transient LD produced more unimodal gestural utterances than typical-development children, and in the temporal relationships between gestures and words, where the children who would show DLD provided more frequent representational gestures before the spoken answer than typical-development children. We suggest a different function for gestures in children with T-LD, who used representational gestures to replace the spoken word they were not yet able to produce, and in children with LD-DLD, who used representational gestures to access spoken words.

Distinktivna obilježja deficita artikulaciono-fonoloških i leksičko-semantičkih sposobnosti dece sa razvojnim jezičkim poremećajem

Language disorder is defined as a disorder of the acquisition, comprehension or expression of spoken and/or written language that may be expressed in one or more aspects of the language system including phonology, semantics, morphology, syntax and pragmatics. Difficulties at the level of morphology and syntax are by far the most recognizable and most researched linguistic aspects, while research on other aspects of language has been left aside. The aim of this study was to determine the distinctive features of the deficit of articulation-phonological and lexical-semantic abilities in children with developmental language disorder (DLD) at a younger school age. Our research included 79 respondents, 39 of them with a diagnosis of DLD and 40 children with typical language development. The average age of the respondents in the group of children with DLD was 6.87 years, while the age of the respondents in the control group was 6.93. In the research, a prepared battery of tests was used to assess articulation-phonological abilities (Global Articulation Test, Oral Praxis Test, Phoneme Difference Test and Auditory Discrimination Test), while Vocabulary and Semantic Test was used to assess lexical and semantic abilities. Children with DLD had higher average scores on all tests used, but discriminant analysis found that synonyms, oral practice, metonyms, phonemic hearing, and auditory discrimination contributed most to group discrimination, while other variables contributed but with less projection. It is important to mention that the articulation slightly contributes to group discrimination.

Language Evaluation in Developmental Language Disorder: Celf 4 vs Celf 5

The CELF assessment test is one of the tools most used today for the differential diagnosis of Developmental Language Disorder (DLD) because it allows obtaining a lingüistic level with different areas. The recent update of the test offers new scales especially in Spanish speakers. The objective of this study was to analyze the language level of people with DLD with the CELF 4 and CELF 5 tests to verify the possible differences that exist between both tests. The sample consisted of 26 children and adolescents with a diagnosis of TDL between 6 and 15 years old who were evaluated with both tests. The results obtained indicate that, in general, the scores are lower when they are evaluated with the CELF 5 test, with significant differences in Core Language, Receptive Language and Expressive Language. These data lead us to consider the CELF test as an essential tool in the diagnosis of DLD but also to take into account a complementary evaluation that allows obtaining a complete linguistic profile as a starting point for the intervention.

Vowel Accuracy and Segmental Variability Differentiate Children With Developmental Language Disorder in Nonword Repetition.

Purpose Poor nonword repetition accuracy is a hallmark of children with developmental language disorder (DLD). However, other diagnostic categories also show impaired nonword repetition performance relative to children with typical development (TD); therefore, this task is currently a sensitive but nonspecific index of DLD. In this study, we investigated segmental and kinematic aspects of nonword repetition performance to further specify the diagnostic utility of nonword repetition tasks (NRTs) in diagnosing DLD. Method Forty children, ages 48-86 months, participated, including children with DLD (n = 12), speech sound disorder (SSD; n = 14), and TD (n = 14). All children completed an assessment battery to determine group classification, a classic NRT (Dollaghan & Campbell, 1998), and an experimental NRT designed to measure segmental and articulatory (specifically lip aperture) variability. We assessed nonword repetition accuracy in the classic and experimental NRTs and segmental and kinematic variability in the experimental NRT. Results In both the classic and experimental NRTs, children with SSD and DLD produced nonwords with lower phoneme and consonant accuracy compared to children with TD. Children with DLD produced more vowel errors compared to children with TD in both tasks. In the experimental NRT, children with DLD produced nonwords with high levels of segmental variability compared to children with TD. Children with SSD did not differ from children with TD or children with DLD in the vowel accuracy or the segmental variability measures. The articulatory variability measure did not reveal any group differences. Conclusions In the presence of speech sound difficulties, low nonword repetition accuracy does not aid in the diagnosis of DLD. However, vowel accuracy and segmental variability appear specific to DLD status in NRTs.

T-PEC: a novel test for the elicited production of clitic pronouns in Italian. Preliminary data

ABSTRACT The study presented in this article aims at investigating the clinical usefulness of a novel test, called T-PEC, for the diagnosis of Developmental Language Disorder in Italian preschool children. The instrument exploits the production of clitic pronouns, in particular third person direct object clitics (3PDO-CL), as a clinical marker for the disorder. Psychometric properties and normative data were computed on a sample of 70 children ranging in age from 4.6 to 5.8 years: 22 children diagnosed as language-impaired by expert clinicians according to international guidelines, and 48 typically developing peers. The statistical analysis of the collected data revealed good internal consistency (Cronbach’s α = 0.86) and confirmed the effectiveness of the T-PEC test in distinguishing typically developing and DLD children, especially when the latter showed morphosyntactic deficits (AUC = 79.9%). Its high accuracy, combined with the rapidity and easiness of its administration, makes the T-PEC test suitable for use in clinical settings.

Diagnosis of Developmental Language Disorder in Research Studies.

Purpose The aim of this study was to investigate the extent to which researchers in the field of developmental language disorder are utilizing validated methods to diagnose their research participants. Method We examined 90 research articles published from 2015 to 2019 that included English-speaking participants from the United States who were identified as having a developmental language disorder or specific language impairment. From these articles, we identified the tests and measures used to identify participants and classify them as healthy or impaired. We then consulted the test manuals and the literature to find information on sensitivity and specificity of the test and the evidence-based cut score that maximized identification accuracy. Results Of the 90 articles examined, 38 (42%) were found to reflect validated diagnostic methods, and 51 (58%) did not. Conclusion Our results illustrate that validated methods are used less than half of the time even by those who should have a high level of expertise and despite calls for increasing scientific rigor in research practices.

The processing of rhythmic structures in music and prosody by children with developmental dyslexia and developmental language disorder.

Rhythm perception seems to be crucial to language development. Many studies have shown that children with developmental dyslexia and developmental language disorder have difficulties in processing rhythmic structures. In this study, we investigated the relationships between prosody and musical processing in Italian children with typical and atypical development. The tasks aimed to reproduce linguistic prosodic structures through musical sequences, offering a direct comparison between the two domains without violating the specificities of each one. About 16 Typically Developing children, 16 children with a diagnosis of Developmental Dyslexia, and 16 with a diagnosis of developmental language disorder (age 10-13years) participated in the experimental study. Three tasks were administered: an association task between a sentence and its humming version, a stress discrimination task (between couples of sounds reproducing the intonation of Italian trisyllabic words), and an association task between trisyllabic nonwords with different stress position and three-notes musical sequences with different musical stress. Children with developmental language disorder perform significantly lower than Typically Developing children on the humming test. By contrast, children with developmental dyslexia are significantly slower than TD in associating nonwords with musical sequences. Accuracy and speed in the experimental tests correlate with metaphonological, language, and word reading scores. Theoretical and clinical implications are discussed within a multidimensional model of neurodevelopmental disorders including prosodic and rhythmic skills at word and sentence level.