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Trajectories of language delay from age 3 to 5: persistence, recovery and late onset
Author(s) -
Zambrana Imac Maria,
Pons Francisco,
Eadie Patricia,
Ystrom Eivind
Publication year - 2013
Publication title -
international journal of language and communication disorders
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.101
H-Index - 67
eISSN - 1460-6984
pISSN - 1368-2822
DOI - 10.1111/1460-6984.12073
Subject(s) - odds , psychology , developmental psychology , risk factor , norwegian , odds ratio , language delay , demography , cohort , language disorder , comprehension , logistic regression , pediatrics , language development , medicine , cognition , psychiatry , linguistics , philosophy , sociology
Background Knowledge is scarce on what contributes to whether children with early language delay (LD) show persistent, recovering or sometimes late‐onset LD without a prior history of early LD in subsequent preschool years. Aims To explore whether an integrative model of vital risk factors, including poor early communication skills, family history of language‐related difficulties and male gender, predicts the development of persistent, recovering or late‐onset LD trajectories from 3 to 5 years quantitatively and qualitatively differently. Methods & Procedures LD was assessed by maternal reports on the Ages and Stages Questionnaire at 3 and 5 years for 10 587 children in The Norwegian Mother and Child Cohort Study. Children were classified across time as having no, late onset, transient or persistent LD. Multinomial logistic regression analyses included the integrative model of vital risk factors and covariates. Outcome & Results Across time, 3%, 5% and 6.5% of the children displayed persistent, transient and late‐onset LD, respectively. The odds for persistent LD were doubled for boys and children with low language comprehension at 1.5 years; and tripled by late‐talking familial risk. These same odds decreased for transient LD, and even further for late‐onset LD. Familial risk for writing and reading difficulties especially increased the odds for late‐onset and persistent LD, while familial risk of unintelligible speech increased the odds for transient LD. Although girls had on average far better language comprehension than boys, low language comprehension was a stronger risk factor for persistent LD in girls. Conclusions & Implications Preschool LD trajectories were uniquely predicted from the integrative risk model of poor early communicative skills, family history and male gender. This might benefit identification of different LD trajectories by supporting broader severe vulnerability for persistent LD, milder vulnerability for transient LD, and possibly a specific risk for reading and learning difficulties for children with late‐onset LD.