Surveying and screening preschool language development in community-focused intervention programmes: a review of...

Preschool language intervention has come increasingly to the fore with the development of community-focused interventions including Sure Start in the UK. Successful intervention methods may well be incorporated into mainstream service delivery, especially in areas of disadvantage. The question of whether such interventions will work and of their impact on children's language development has focused attention on measures of language. This paper distinguishes two reasons for measuring language development: (1) surveying language; and (2) screening language. It goes on to suggest a set of criteria for selecting instruments for these applications. The review includes a wide range of language assessment instruments for preschool children and examines those most likely to be suitable. It suggests a role for paraprofessionals in survey and screening and argues that this may be advantageous in terms of reaching families and thereby achieving high levels of coverage of a population group. Finally, there is a discussion of the implications of such measures in community-focused preschool interventions.