Secondary prevention of paediatric language disability: a comparison of parents and nurses as screening agents

The purpose of this investigation was to compare the ability of nurses and parents to detect speech and language disability. The methodology included development and validation of a parent questionnaire to detect speech and language disability in 398 3-year-old English-speaking children. The parent questionnaire and a standard developmental screen administered by child health nurses were compared with a gold standard (a speech and language assessment). International criteria for screening tools were applied. The tools were comparable in performance. A simple parent questionnaire, completed without professional assistance, was a viable alternative to professional screening. Parents' education and parity had no influence on their ability to detect language disorders. Although size of sibship had no association with the occurrence of speech and language disability, third-born children were more likely to have a speech and language disability than any other birth order.