The Speech-Language Pathologist Stress Inventory (SLPSI) is a 48-item questionnaire adapted from the Teacher Stress Inventory (Fimian, 1988). Factor analyses of the responses of 626 speech-language pathologists revealed four stress source factors (Bureaucratic Restrictions, Time and Workload Management, Lack of Professional Supports, and Instructional Limitations) and two stress manifestation factors (Emotional-Fatigue Manifestations and Biobehavioral Manifestations). The internal consistency reliability of scales based on these factors ranged from .71 to .87, with .93 for the entire scale. Evidence for construct validity was found in moderate positive correlations between the scales of the SLPSI and the scales of the Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI) (Maslach & Jackson, 1986). Stress and burnout subscale intercorrelations ranged from .10 to .82 ( p <.01), and the correlation between stress strength and burnout frequency was .66 ( p <.001).

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Phonemic awareness, AK, and letter writing help to explain the relationship between language status and name writing. These skills should be integrated during treatment, using a horizontal approach with developmentally appropriate activities, particularly for children with SLI.

Research shows that many preschool children with specific language impairment (SLI) have difficulty acquiring literacy skills including phonological awareness, print concepts, and alphabet knowledge. Limited research suggests that preschool children with SLI also have difficulty with emergent writing tasks such as name writing and word writing. In typically developing children, research indicates that emergent writing skills are acquired in a developmental sequence: (1) linearity, (2) segmentation, (3) simple characters, (4) left-right orientation, (5) complex characters, (6) random letters, and (7) invented spelling. This study compared the emergent writing skills of 4-year-old children with SLI (n = 22) to their age- and gender-matched peers (n = 22). Results indicated that children with SLI demonstrate difficulty with a variety of writing tasks, including letter writing, name writing, word writing, and sentence writing when compared to their typically-developing peers. Children with SLI followed the same developmental sequence in acquiring writing skills as their typically-developing peers.

Three widely used tests of grammatical ability were evaluated for content-oriented test construction using two procedures. First, a decision-making model was developed to assist in judging the content relevance and coverage of each test using information provided by respective test authors. Second, a comprehensive model of the grammatical domain was applied to individual items on the tests so that descriptions and comparisons of their content domains could be made. Both evaluations showed inadequate content relevance and coverage for all three tests. The content domains of these tests were found deficient when judged against an external standard as well as when examined according to their own content specifications. The influence of inadequate content relevance and coverage on assessment and remediation is discussed.