Correlates of language development in language-disordered children

This study organized a large data archive gathered over 8 years on 718 children with language disorders. Descriptive data categorized by demographic/background, physical/development, social/personality, and language/academic characteristics were analyzed to provide a broad description of this group of children. Sets of descriptor variables in five domains were identified from program records and were used to predict language performance at program entry and relative language improvement over 2-3 years. Age was the strongest predictor for all analyses. In general, the primary research factors in the study (53 variables representing IQ, language history, socioeconomic status, physical/neurological, and social-emotional background) failed to account very well for either language performance at program entry or for relative language gain. In prediction of pretest language performance, IQ and physical factors played the strongest role. The two factors contributing significantly to prediction of relative gain were IQ (although surprisingly weakly) and social-emotional status. Characteristics of those children who progressed most while in the program were identified.