Use of language tests when identifying specific language impairment in primary health care

To evaluate the ability of language tests to identify children with specific language impairment (SLI) in primary health care. All the language tests presently in clinical use in Finland were applied.

All the children with SLI living in one city in Finland constituted the cohort. Test scores were collected from 83 subjects drawn from a birth cohort of 4,553 children. Finally 31 case-control pairs were studied. All SLI diagnoses were set in secondary health care. Test scores of 14 language tests were examined that, together with subtests, included 39 different tasks.

Out of 39 performed tests, the difference in test scores between children with SLI and their matched controls was statistically significant in 26 tests. A group of six tests had good sensitivity and moderate specificity for SLI diagnosis and they correctly classified children with SLI to either F80.1 or F80.2 diagnosis category.

The results suggest that most of the language tests in Finnish identify children with SLI and, furthermore, that these tests identify language deficits that are consistent with those found in other studies. More studies with larger age-matched populations are needed.