Redmond (2002) Revisited: Have Standardized Behavioral Rating Scales Gotten Better at Accommodating for Overlapping Symptoms with Language Impairment?

Abstract

Seventeen years ago, Redmond reviewed five standardized behavioral rating scales and identified several aspects of their design that made them prone to mischaracterize language impairments as socioemotional behavioral disorders. The purpose of this report is to provide an update and extension of the original audit. We consulted test manuals to evaluate: (1) representation of children with language impairments in their standardization samples; (2) presence of language, or academic items within their inventories; (3) accommodations for administering the measure to children with language impairments; and (4) procedures for identifying inordinately punitive ratings. Overlapping language and academic symptoms continued to be a problem across current behavioral rating scales. Improvements since Redmond occurred in the representation of children with language impairments in standardization samples and in procedures for identifying inordinately punitive ratings. We discuss implications for clinical assessment, research programs, and instrument development.

Language not auditory experience is related to parent‐reported executive functioning in preschool‐aged deaf and hard‐of‐hearing children

“…A second limitation is one that nearly all research in this area suffers from: our measure of EF, the BRIEF‐P, is not a language‐neutral assessment (e.g., Redmond et al, 2019 ). This can be seen clearly on BRIEF‐P items like When given two things to do , only remembers the first .…”

Clinical Intersections Among Idiopathic Language Disorder, Social (Pragmatic) Communication Disorder, and Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder

“…In a series of investigations, my colleagues and I have examined the issue of overlapping clinical features from both sides. We have considered whether signs and symptoms of idiopathic language disorder could be mischaracterized during routine clinical assessments as supportive of a diagnosis of ADHD or another socioemotional behavioral disorder ( Ash et al, 2017 ; Redmond, 2002 ; Redmond & Ash, 2014 ; Redmond & Rice, 1998 , 2002 ; Redmond, Hannig, & Wilder, 2019 ). We have also looked into the possibility that poor performance on language measures could potentially reflect deficits in children's attention, hyperactivity, or impulsivity rather than result from underlying linguistic deficits ( Redmond, 2004 , 2005 ; Redmond et al, 2015 , 2011 ).…”

“…Even so, Redmond (2002) reviewed five standardized behavioral rating scales and identified several aspects of their design that made them prone to mischaracterize language impairments as ADHD and other socioemotional behavioral disorders. Recently, Redmond, Hannig, and Wilder (2019) revisited newer editions of the scales reviewed by Redmond (2002) . We expanded our audit to include newer scales that have been appearing with regularity in research and clinical reports.…”