Investigation of the language tasks to include in a short‐language measure for children in the early school years

Matov, Jessica; Mensah, Fiona; Cook, Fallon; Reilly, Sheena

doi:10.1111/1460-6984.12378

Cited by 6 publications

(9 citation statements)

References 33 publications

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“…SLaM was developed by including a task combination found to be sufficiently accurate at identifying low language skills (Matov et al . ). It was also developed using item analysis and selection procedures that were omitted in previously published short‐language measure development studies (Dollaghan and Campbell , Gardner et al .…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 97%

“…The SLaM was developed and validated across two phases, following the preliminary study that determined the measure's content (Matov et al . ). The SLaM was created during Phase 1 and validated during Phase 2, using two independent samples.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 97%

“…Based on the findings of prior research, 160 direction‐following and sentence‐recall test items were created for initial testing (Matov et al . ). The direction‐following items asked children to follow instructions by pointing to pictures on a stimulus card.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 97%

“…Preliminary work explored the components (constructs) of language and identified the most effective combination of tasks to assess language by analysing results from a large‐population longitudinal study (Matov et al . ). Participants ( n = 995 at age 5 and n = 1217 at age 7) were assessed with eight language tasks from commercially available measures for speech–language pathologists.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 97%

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The development and validation of the Short Language Measure (SLaM): A brief measure of general language ability for children in their first year at school

Matov

Mensah

Cook

et al. 2020

Intl J Lang & Comm Disor

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Background: There is no sufficiently accurate short-language measure that could be used by speech-language pathologists, teachers or paraprofessionals to screen young school-aged children to identify those requiring indepth language evaluations. This may be due to poor development of the available measures, which have omitted crucial test development steps. Applying more stringent development procedures could result in a measure with sufficient accuracy. Aims: To create and validate a short-language measure that has acceptable accuracy, validity and reliability, and which can be used to identify children who require further assessment and/or referral to speech-language services. Methods & Procedures:The study consisted of two phases. In Phase 1 (measure creation), 56 children were assessed with 160 direction-following and sentence-recall test items and a reference measure, the Clinical Evaluation of Language Fundamentals-Fourth Edition (CELF-4). Items were then examined for their individual characteristics (validity, reliability, difficulty and discrimination) via item analysis and the highest quality items were selected to form the Short Language Measure (SLaM). In Phase 2 (measure validation), 126 children were assessed with the SLaM and the reference measure (CELF-4) to determine SLaM's accuracy, validity and reliability. Outcomes & Results: A total of 40 test items were selected to form SLaM in Phase 1. Findings from Phase 2 indicated that SLaM had an accuracy of 94% (sensitivity = 94%, specificity = 93%), validity of 0.89 and reliability of 0.93. These values remained relatively consistent across both phases. Conclusions & Implications:The results indicated that SLaM has excellent psychometric properties. It can be used to identify children who need further evaluation by a speech-language pathologist. What this paper addsWhat is already known on this subject Prior research suggests that combining a direction-following and a sentence-recall task has sufficient discrimination accuracy and agreement with an omnibus language measure. Trialling a large set of direction-following and sentencerecall test items to select those with the highest individual characteristics could result in an effective short-language measure.What this paper adds to existing knowledge A short-language measure (SLaM) was created and validated on two independent samples of children. Items with the highest validities, reliabilities and discrimination capacities were selected to form SLaM. This procedure resulted in a measure with high validity and reliability that exceeded the criterion for adequate discrimination accuracy. 346Jessica Matov et al. What are the potential or actual clinical implications of this work?SLaM is an effective measure that can accurately identify children who require detailed evaluations by speech-language pathologists.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 97%

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 97%

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 97%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 97%

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The development and validation of the Short Language Measure (SLaM): A brief measure of general language ability for children in their first year at school

Matov

Mensah

Cook

et al. 2020

Intl J Lang & Comm Disor

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

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“…It is difficult to find large samples of children with rare genetic conditions, for example, but this does not hold for TD children or even for children with language disorders. The range of participants varies from 5 [ 53 ] to 2212 [ 54 ], but even if we remove these two studies, the differences are still immense (see Figure 4 ). Nevertheless, the important issue now is not merely the differences between studies, but the fact that the majority of them included fewer than 100 participants, with studies with groups of between 30 and 60 participants being the most numerous.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Sentence Repetition Tasks to Detect and Prevent Language Difficulties: A Scoping Review

Rujas¹,

Mariscal

Murillo

et al. 2021

Children

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Sentence repetition tasks (SRTs) have been widely used in language development research for decades. In recent years, there has been increasing interest in studying performance in SRTs as a clinical marker for language impairment. What are the characteristics of SRTs? For what purposes have SRTs been used? To what extent have they been used with young children, in different languages, and with different clinical populations? In order to answer these and other questions, we conducted a scoping review. Peer reviewed studies published in indexed scientific journals (2010–2021) were analyzed. A search in different databases yielded 258 studies. Research published in languages other than English or Spanish, adult samples, dissertations, case studies, artificial models, and theoretical publications were excluded. After this exclusion, 203 studies were analyzed. Our results show that most research using SRT were conducted with English monolingual speakers older than 5 years of age; studies with bilingual participants have mostly been published since 2016; and SRTs have been used with several non-typical populations. Research suggests that they are a reliable tool for identifying language difficulties and are specifically suitable for detecting developmental language disorder.

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Exploring the impact of a co‐designed shared book reading environment for families in a community hub

Dunstan,

Smith,

Melvin

et al. 2024

Intl J Lang & Comm Disor

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BackgroundEvidence supports the effectiveness of shared book reading for promoting language and literacy development, but it is known that families experiencing vulnerability may have reduced access to books and are less likely to share books regularly at home. Community hubs often provide support to families experiencing vulnerability and may provide an opportunity to create environments that support families to engage in shared book reading, especially if families are invited into the creation of these environments through co‐design. However, there is currently little evidence regarding the impact of co‐designing shared book reading environments with families in community settings.AimsThe current study is part of a broader project which used co‐design to develop a shared book reading environment in collaboration with stakeholders in a community hub. This small‐scale study aimed to provide a preliminary evaluation of the impact of this co‐designed shared book reading environment at the community hub on (1) the frequency of shared book reading at the hub; (2) participants’ confidence and enjoyment of reading with children at the hub; and (3) participants’ experiences of shared book reading at the hub.Method & ProceduresThe co‐design project was carried out in four phases with families, staff and community partners at the community hub. A convergent mixed‐methods approach was used to collect and analyse quantitative and qualitative data in the first and last phase of the project to evaluate project outcomes. Quantitative data (environmental observations of reading at the hub and participant ratings of confidence and enjoyment of reading with children at the hub) were analysed using descriptive statistics and nonparametric statistical tests. Qualitative data (participants’ responses regarding their experiences of changes implemented in the community hub) were analysed using inductive content analysis.Outcome & ResultsAn increased frequency of shared book reading was observed within the community hub after changes were implemented, and positive changes in enjoyment of book reading were recorded. Qualitative responses from participants following conclusion of the project were organised into three main categories, which showed that (1) children and families were reading more and enjoying reading activities that were happening; (2) children and families were borrowing more books; and (3) families had changed the way they were reading at home with their children.Conclusions & ImplicationsA co‐designed shared book reading environment within a community hub had a positive impact on shared book reading experiences for families in areas with high levels of vulnerability.What this paper addsWhat is already known on this subject Community hubs provide a unique opportunity to support early language and literacy development in partnership with families in areas of vulnerability; however, there is limited literature investigating the impacts of these supports. A previous study utilised co‐design to develop a shared book reading environment with stakeholders at a community hub in an area where a high proportion of children are considered to be ‘vulnerable’ in terms of language and literacy development. It was found that co‐design enabled the development of collaborative changes to support shared book reading that were valued and owned by families, staff and community partners at the community hub.What this study adds The current study focused on evaluating the impact of a co‐design project on the frequency of shared book reading at the hub and participants’ experiences, confidence and enjoyment of reading with children at the hub. Analysis of pre‐ and post‐data provide preliminary evidence that a co‐designed shared book reading environment in a community hub can have a positive impact on increasing families’ awareness and engagement with book borrowing, engagement in shared book reading activities in the community and at home, and participants’ confidence and enjoyment of reading with children.What are the clinical implications of this work? Speech pathologists have an important role to play in prevention and promotion. This study has shown that collaboration with families experiencing vulnerability can support the implementation of strategies to promote shared reading in a community hub and demonstrate increased quality and frequency of shared book reading. The utilisation of a community hub also highlights the opportunities for the speech pathology profession to deliver community‐based promotion and prevention initiatives as a strategy to address equitable language outcomes.

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Investigation of the language tasks to include in a short‐language measure for children in the early school years

Cited by 6 publications

References 33 publications

The development and validation of the Short Language Measure (SLaM): A brief measure of general language ability for children in their first year at school

The development and validation of the Short Language Measure (SLaM): A brief measure of general language ability for children in their first year at school

Sentence Repetition Tasks to Detect and Prevent Language Difficulties: A Scoping Review

Exploring the impact of a co‐designed shared book reading environment for families in a community hub

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