The diagnostic and predictive validity of the Renfrew Bus Story

Two studies are presented providing evidence indicating the diagnostic and predictive validity of the American version of The Renfrew Bus Story (J. Cowley & C. Glasgow, 1994).

Thirty-two children with specific language impairment (SLI) and 32 children with typical language development participated in the first study to determine identification accuracy of The Renfrew Bus Story. A second study of 12 children with SLI participated in a 3-year longitudinal study that was used to gather evidence of the predictive validity of The Renfrew Bus Story.

The combined Information and Length scores of The Renfrew Bus Story yielded adequate (84%) sensitivity but weak (78%) specificity, making it an inappropriate tool for identifying children with language impairment or typical language development. Moderate to high correlations were found between The Renfrew Bus Story scores and nearly all scores from language tests administered 3 years later.

The evidence supports the use of The Renfrew Bus Story as an indicator of future language performance for children with SLI. However, its performance as a measure for identifying impairments during the preschool years is somewhat weaker due to overidentification of typically developing children, and in particular minority children, as having poor narrative skills.