The Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act of 2004 allows schools to use a child's response to research-based intervention (RTI) as a part of procedures to identify students with learning disabilities. This paper considers whether RTI-based assessment models meet ethical and legal standards for acceptable assessment practices.…

Comparison of the speech of 37 preschool children with speech-language impairment (SLI), 40 language-matched children, and 45 age-matched children found that errors in a set of morphemes marking tense characterized the SLI children. Evidence supporting the use of these morphemes as clinical markers for SLI is offered. (DB)

The validity of the Clinical Evaluation of Language Fundamentals (Third Edition) for identification and description of language disorders following brain injury was evaluated in 11 adolescents with traumatic brain injury. In general, the measure identified only those individuals who had previously been diagnosed as language impaired, not those…

This study examined nonword repetition performance in 581 second graders participating in a longitudinal investigation of specific language impairment. Results indicated that children with language impairments, as well as those in intervention, exhibited deficient nonword repetition skills and that the Nonword Repetition Task is a culturally…

The diagnostic decision-making standards used by practicing clinicians to determine language impairment were investigated. Results showed significant interrater agreement among the 27 clinicians' decisions and moderate intrarater reliability within clinician's decisions. Most of the clinicians' diagnostic decision-making standards could be modeled…

This paper provides an overview of interdisciplinary assessment procedures and criteria for diagnosis of central auditory processing (CAP) disorders. It describes use of a CAP test battery consisting of four measures with results integrated with a comprehensive speech-language pathology assessment. Practical strategies for classroom utilization…

A literature review identified behaviors representative of the normal stages of communication, cognition, and vocalization in children's prelinguistic period. Results were organized as a checklist for assessment of at-risk infants. The checklist is recommended for monitoring infant development, supplementing formal screenings and diagnostic tools,…

This study examined dynamic assessment as a less biased evaluation procedure for assessing the language-learning ability of Native American young children (N=23) identified as either stronger or weaker language learners. Through a test-teach-test protocol, participants were taught principles of categorization. Results supported the further…

The performance of reading-disabled, math-disabled, slow-learning, under-achieving, and normal-achieving children (total n=143) was compared on verbal and visual-spatial working memory measures under initial, gain, and maintenance testing conditions. Ability group classifications changed under dynamic testing conditions. The study demonstrated the…

Because eligibility for speech-language services often is based on the relationship between the child's cognitive ability and language performance, this study examined the agreement of measurement practices used in the cognitive referencing model of eligibility determination. Administration of 5 measures to 26 preschool children with delayed…

This investigation compared the performances of 24 African American children (mean age 6) with language impairments (LI) to typically developing African American peers on five traditional informal language assessment measures. Performances of the LI children were significantly lower on all measures than typically developing peers. Implications for…

Systems for classifying speakers' communicative intents are typically limited in scope, in applicability across the full developmental range of language abilities and disabilities, and in their theoretical foundations. Criteria for an adequate system for analyzing communicative intents are discussed, and a system is proposed which meets those…

This study compared 4 methods (2 case history and 2 performance-based) used to classify the status of adult subjects in familial studies of developmental language disorders, involving 24 parents of children with developmental language disorders and 24 unrelated adult controls. Classification by case history found fewer affected adults than…

This third volume of the Assessment, Evaluation and Programming System for Infants and Children (AEPS) describes AEPS measurement components for children who are at risk or who have disabilities, from 3 to 6 years of age. Section 1 provides a comprehensive description of the AEPS and how its measurement system functions for children and…