Document Type
Article
Version
Publisher's PDF
Publication Title
Journal of Child Language
Volume
27
Publication Date
10-1-2000
Abstract
Expressive language outcomes measured by MLU and the Index of Productive Syntax (IPSyn) at ages 3;0 and 4;0 were investigated in 34 late talkers with normal receptive language identified between 2;0 to 2;7 and 16 typically developing comparison children matched on age, SES, and nonverbal ability. Late talkers made greater gains than comparison children between 3;0 and 4;0 in both MLU and IPSyn raw score. However, when age-standardized x-scores were analysed, the late talkers were about 2.5 Standard deviations below comparison children on both measures at both ages. At 3;0, 41 % of the late talkers had MLUs above the 10th percentile based on Scarborough's (1990) benchmark sample; by 4;0, 71 % did so. Using the IPSyn, a more stringent measure, 34% scored above the 10th percentile at 3;0 and only 29 % did so at 4;0. MLU was significantly correlated with the IPSyn at both ages for the late talkers, but only at 3;0 for the comparison children. A converging set of regression analyses indicated no group differences in the predictive relationship between MLU and IPSyn, suggesting that the late talkers were delayed on both measures but not deviant in their development.
Publisher's Statement
© 2000 by Cambridge University Press. Available on publisher's site at http://journals.cambridge.org/abstract_S0305000900004232.
Citation
Rescorla, Leslie, Katherine Dahlsgaard, and Julie Roberts. "Late-Talking Toddlers: MLU and IPSyn Outcomes at 3;0 and 4;0." Journal of Child Language 27, no. 3 (2000): 623-644, doi: 10.1017/S0305000900004232.
DOI
10.1017/S0305000900004232