Elsevier

Journal of Communication Disorders

Volume 40, Issue 1, January–February 2007, Pages 82-95
Journal of Communication Disorders

Predicting academic performance in children with language impairment: The role of parent report

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jcomdis.2006.06.001Get rights and content

Abstract

This study examines the ability of preschool speech–language measures and parent report in predicting later academic performance. Preschool measures of speech, language and communication for 35 children with language impairment were analyzed for their ability to predict reading, writing, spelling, and mathematics in these same children at age nine. Regression analyses revealed that scores from the Vineland Adaptive Behavior Scales Communication Domain (a parent report instrument) were the best predictors of scores on measures of reading, writing, and math, while the scores from the Photo Articulation Test best predicted spelling outcomes. The results are discussed relative to the value of parent report in assessing and managing language impairment, and predicting scholastic performance in preschool children.

Learner outcomes: The reader will be able to (1) describe trends in the literature relative to the later academic performance of preschool children with language impairment, (2) identify potential key predictors of school-age academic performance in preschool children with language impairment and (3) recognize the importance of parent report in understanding language impairment and its effects on later academic achievement.

Section snippets

Preschool language impairment and academic achievement

Considerable evidence exists for negative effects of preschool language impairment on later academic achievement. Research in this realm has examined outcomes in academic areas involving written language, including reading, spelling and writing, as well as in mathematics. Methodologies used have included prospective longitudinal investigations in which a cohort of children is followed for a period of years (e.g. Badian, Duffy, Als, & McAnulty, 1991; Badian, McAnulty, Duffy, & Als, 1990;

Parent report and preschool language impairment

Recent reviews of the research on the role of parent report in understanding the presence and nature of language impairment reveal some inconsistency in findings. That is, while parents of both typical children and children with language impairment appear to consistently overestimate their children's language abilities, their ratings of language correlate with other measures of language and appear to be congruent with the ratings of professionals (see Dale, 1996; Hauerwas & Stone, 2000, for

Participants

Thirty-five participants were identified from a cohort of 132 preschool children with language impairment initially seen in one testing site of a large, multi-center project investigating developmental disorders in children (see Rapin, 1996 for description of initial project). To be entered in the original preschool project, children were required to meet the following criteria:

  • 1.

    age between 3 years, 0 months and 5 years, 11 months;

  • 2.

    normal hearing sensitivity as determined using pure tone

Results

To identify the preschool variables most predictive of later academic achievement, stepwise regression analyses were conducted for each of the dependent variables (the four follow-up academic measures) using SPSS® (1998) software. In using a stepwise method, the computer builds models on the basis of the predictive value of each variable, with variables of significant value being added to the model, and those of little value being removed. Results of these analyses are presented by academic

Discussion

This study examined the strength of parent report and other preschool language measures in predicting later academic achievement in children with language impairment. Two research questions were investigated; the answers to which are closely related. In answering the first question, which sought to identify the best preschool predictors of school-age academics, we found that the Communication Domain of the Vineland was the single best predictor of reading, writing, and math scores, while the

Acknowledgements

This manuscript includes research conducted by the second author while a high school student enrolled in Upward Bound at the University of Maine. Portions of this work were presented to the 2002 Annual Convention of the American Speech–Language–Hearing Association, Atlanta, GA. Thanks to Kristen Higgins for her help with data management, and to Allan Smith and Stacy Wagovich for comments on an earlier draft. This research was supported in part by NIH Program Project Grant NS 20489: “Nosology of

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