Purpose: The objective of this study was to compare vocabulary size and composition in 2-year-olds learning Polish or English as measured by the Language Development Survey (LDS; Rescorla, 1989). Method: Participants were 199 Polish toddlers (M = 24.14 months, SD = 0.35) and 422 U.S. toddlers (M = 24.69 months, SD = 0.78). Results: Test-retest…

Children with language disorders have particular difficulty with verbs, but when this difficulty emerges is unknown. We examined syntactic (transitive, intransitive, ditransitive) and semantic (manner, result) features of two-year-olds' verb vocabularies, contrasting late talkers and typically developing children to look for early differences in…

Purpose: This study reports age 5 morphology and syntax skills in late talkers identified at age 2 (n = 34) and typically developing comparison children (n = 20). Results: The late talkers manifested significant morphological delays at ages 3 and 4 relative to comparison peers. Based on the 14 morphemes analyzed at age 5, the only significant…

Purpose: Our objective was to replicate previous cross­linguistic findings by comparing Portuguese and U.S. children with respect to (a) effects of language, gender, and age on vocabulary size; (b) lexical composition; and (c) late talking. Method: We used the Language Development Survey (LDS; Rescorla, 1989) with children (18-35 months) learning…

The present study examined the relation between language and social ability in a sample of 268 preschoolers aged 18-35 months. Expressive language was assessed with the Italian adaptation of the Language Development Survey (LDS), and Social Competence was assessed with the Questionnaire on Peer Interactions in the Kindergarten (QPI). Results…

Purpose: The authors tested associations between (a) parent-reported temporary vs. persistent vocabulary delay and (b) parent-reported behavioral/emotional problems in a sample of 5,497 young Dutch children participating in a prospective population-based study. Method: Mothers completed the MacArthur Communicative Development…

Purpose: The authors investigated continuity and discontinuity of vocabulary skills in a population-based cohort in the Netherlands. Method: Mothers of 3,759 children completed the Dutch version of the MacArthur Short Form Vocabulary Checklist (Zink & Lejaegere, 2003) at 18 months and a Dutch translation of the Language Development Survey…

Purpose: This study examined whether late talkers identified at 24-31 months continued to have weaker language and reading skills at 17 years of age than typically developing peers. Method: Language and reading outcomes at 17 years of age were examined in 26 children identified as late talkers with normal nonverbal ability and normal receptive…

Purpose: The association between language delay and behavior problems in toddlers was examined in 2 studies, 1 conducted in a developmental clinic in New Jersey (Study 1; N = 83) and the other conducted in a developmental clinic in New York (Study 2; N = 103). Method: In both clinics, parents of 18- to 35-month-olds completed the Language…

Two studies examined word frequencies in toddlers' lexicons using the Language Development Survey (LDS). In Study 1, a high degree of consistency in LDS word frequencies was found in the lexicons of 758 24-month-olds. In Study 2, LDS word frequencies in 40 late talkers found both lexicon size and age of subject influenced the degree of consistency…

Vocabulary growth from age 2 to 3 years was studied in 28 late talkers, using expressive vocabulary inventories reported bimonthly on the Language Development Survey (LDS). (Author/VWL)

The paper reports data from four studies using the Language Development Survey (LDS), a screening tool for the identification of language delay in two-year-old children. The LDS was found to have excellent sensitivity and specificity. Prevalence data using the LDS are reported, comparing three different severity cutoffs. (Author/DB)

Language and reading outcomes at 6 to 9 years of age were examined in 34 children who were late talkers as toddlers. Late talkers performed in the average range on most language and reading tasks by age 5 and 6 but were somewhat less skilled than comparison children at ages 8 and 9. (Contains references.) (Author/DB)

This study examined the concurrent validity of the Language Development Survey (LDS), a 310-word parent report screening tool for language delay in toddlers, by testing its associations with the MacArthur-Bates Communicative Development Inventories: Words and Sentences (CDI:WS), a 680-word parent report instrument. Participants were 239 toddlers…

Age 3 follow-up data are presented for sample of 34 toddlers diagnosed between ages of 24 and 31 months with expressive specific language impairment. Late talkers made more rapid progress in lexical development and in descriptive, explanatory, and definitive use of language than in syntactic and morphological language. Toddlers who'd been more…