title: Specific language impairment in Italian: the first steps in the search for a clinical marker.
abstract: Recent studies of children with specific language impairment (SLI) have identified language measures that seem quite accurate in distinguishing preschool-age children with SLI from their normally developing peers. However, the studies have focussed exclusively on English, and it is clear from the literature that the SLI profile varies between languages. This paper reports on three studies designed to assess the utility of particular language measures for Italian. In the first two studies, it was found that a composite measure based on the use of definite singular articles and third-person plural inflections showed good sensitivity and specificity in distinguishing Italian-speaking children with SLI from their typically developing peers. The third study showed that the same composite can be applied successfully to individual cases of SLI. Some of the additional steps needed to evaluate this composite measure are discussed.
authors.affiliation: Centro di Fonetica, CNR, Padua, Italy.
authors.forename: Umberta
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: Bortolini
authors.forename: M Cristina
authors.initials: MC
authors.lastname: Caselli
authors.forename: Patricia
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Deevy
authors.forename: Laurence B
authors.initials: LB
authors.lastname: Leonard
mesh_terms: D016022:Case-Control Studies; D002648:Child; D002663:Child Language; D002675:Child, Preschool; D006801:Humans; D007806:Language Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis*; D007807:Language Tests; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D014705:Verbal Behavior