An investigation of the power of narrative language sample analyses for differentiating between children with and without specific language impairment

Abstract

Children with Specific Language Impairment (SLI) often experience difficulties that interfere with current and future achievement in academic, social and occupational arenas. This study examines narrative samples elicited from typically developing children and those previously diagnosed as having SLI. The goal of the present study was to determine which measures of narrative samples are most predictive of language impairment, and whether there is a combination of measures that can reliably predict language impairment using this natural and spontaneous language sample technique.