An independent psychometric evaluation of a speech and language tool for two-year-old children from a Sure Start trailblazer site in the West Midlands

Abstract

Speech and language difficulties can be indicative of other cognitive, social and developmental problems. Tools used in the UK have not (1) targeted twoyear-old children, (2) included both parents' reports and independent observations, and (3) simultaneously evaluated expression, understanding and speech. This cross-sectional study of two separate cohorts included 244 children.Good internal consistency reliability for total scale and for understanding and expression sub-scales was found but not for the Speech sub-scale. External reliability from 101 participants was high. The standardized tool includes parental report and direct observation, and it assesses expression, understanding and speech, simultaneously. Internal reliability results suggest that the fewer the number of items included in a sub-scale, the lower the internal consistency. A significant gender main effect on pre-school speech and language scores was identified supporting previous findings that girls perform better than boys. This is an independent evaluation of the psychometric properties of the 'Bilston and Ettingshall Sure Start (BESS) Speech and Language Therapy Two Year Developmental Check' and the effect of gender on children's speech and language development.

Early lexical expression in typically developing Maltese children: implications for the identification of language delay

“…A delay in lexical development therefore has implications for language acquisition (Chiat, 2000). Delayed production of first words translates into late onset of expressive language development, which has been identified as the most prominent warning signal for primary language delay (Adamson-Macedo, Patel, & Sallah, 2009). In the latter, children's development of language skills is slower than their peers' in the absence of an evident cognitive, neurological or sensory cause.…”