ERIC Number: EJ762886
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2007-Apr
Pages: 20
Abstractor: Author
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-1092-4388
EISSN: N/A
Predicting Language Outcomes for Internationally Adopted Children
Glennen, Sharon L.
Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research, v50 n2 p529-548 Apr 2007
Purpose: Language and speech are difficult to assess in newly arrived internationally adopted children. The purpose of this study was to determine if assessments completed when toddlers were first adopted could predict language outcomes at age 2. Local norms were used to develop early intervention guidelines that were evaluated against age 2 outcomes. Patterns of language emergence were also analyzed. Method: Twenty-seven children between 11 and 23 months of age adopted from Eastern Europe were followed from adoption through the 1st year home. Results from initial assessments using the Communication and Symbolic Behavior Scales--Developmental Profile (CSBS-DP; A. Wetherby & B. Prizant, 2002) and MacArthur Communicative Development Inventory--Words and Gestures (MCDI-WG; L. Fenson et al., 1993) were compared against speech and language outcomes 1 year later when the children were 2 years of age. Results: By age 2, receptive language and articulation were developing well; expressive language was still emerging. Initial assessment using the CSBS-DP Behavior Sample and MCDI-WG Words Understood Developmental Quotient predicted age 2 language outcomes. Early intervention guidelines based on these 2 measures had strong positive and negative likelihood ratios (LR) when using age 2 outcomes as the criteria (LR+ = 21.00; LR- = 0.00). Six of the 27 children (22%) had slow language development in comparison to their peers. Conclusion: Newly adopted children with delays on prelinguistic and vocabulary comprehension measures were highly likely to have slow language development at age 2. Initial assessments of these abilities should be used to make early intervention decisions.
Descriptors: Foreign Countries, Articulation (Speech), Early Intervention, Language Patterns, Receptive Language, Expressive Language, Adoption, Language Acquisition, Toddlers, Predictor Variables, Evaluation, Child Development, Child Language, Language Impairments, Vocabulary Development
American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA). 10801 Rockville Pike, Rockville, MD 20852. Tel: 800-638-8255; Fax: 301-571-0457; e-mail: subscribe@asha.org; Web site: http://www.asha.org/about/publications/journal-abstracts/jslhr/
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: Europe
Identifiers - Assessments and Surveys: Communication and Symbolic Behavior Scales; Developmental Quotient; MacArthur Communicative Development Inventory
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A