Follow-up of children at risk for language problems

Area of Science:

• Developmental Psychology
• Speech-Language Pathology
• Educational Psychology

Background:

• Longitudinal studies are crucial for understanding the long-term trajectory of language development in at-risk children.
• Previous identification of at-risk status for language problems necessitates follow-up to assess outcomes.

Purpose of the Study:

• To examine the long-term language, academic, and cognitive outcomes of students identified as at-risk for language problems.
• To compare outcomes between students who received speech-language pathologist (SLP) services and those who did not.
• To identify characteristics differentiating students who continued to exhibit language impairments (LI) from those who did not.

Main Methods:

• Follow-up assessment of 19 students (ages 10-14) previously identified as at-risk for language problems.
• Utilized standardized and informal measures to evaluate cognitive, academic, and linguistic skills.
• Analyzed data for the total group and two subgroups: language impaired (LI) and contrast (CG).

Main Results:

• 37% of students initially at-risk were unidentified with language impairments at follow-up without SLP services.
• Students in the LI subgroup showed lower receptive and composite language scores (CELF-R, TLC-E) compared to the CG.
• Teachers and parents reported more communication and social skill concerns for the LI group.

Conclusions:

• A significant portion of children identified as at-risk for language problems may not require ongoing intervention, but a substantial number continue to exhibit difficulties.
• Receptive language skills and teacher/parent-reported communication behaviors are important indicators for identifying persistent language impairments.
• Further research on identifying and supporting at-risk populations is warranted.