title: Real-word and nonword repetition in Italian-speaking children with specific language impairment: a study of diagnostic accuracy.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Using 2 different scoring methods, the authors examined the diagnostic accuracy of both real-word and nonword repetition in identifying Italian-speaking children with and without specific language impairment (SLI).
  
  
  METHODS
  A total of 34 children ages 3;11-5;8 (years;months) participated--17 children with SLI and 17 typically developing children matched for age (TD-A children). Children completed real-word and nonword repetition tasks. The capacity of real-word and nonword repetition tasks to discriminate children with SLI from TD-A was examined through binary logistic regression and receiver operating characteristic curves.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Both real-word and nonword repetition showed good (or excellent) sensitivity and specificity in distinguishing children with SLI from their TD peers.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Nonword repetition appears to be a useful diagnostic indicator for Italian, as in other languages. In addition, real-word repetition also holds promise. The contributions of each type of measure are discussed.
authors: Università di Padova, Padova, Italy. marco.dispaldro@unipd.it
authors: Marco
authors: M
authors: Dispaldro
authors: Laurence B
authors: LB
authors: Leonard
authors: Patricia
authors: P
authors: Deevy
mesh_terms: D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007558:Italy; D007802:Language; D007804:Language Development; D007805:Language Development Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000503:physiopathology*; D007807:Language Tests / Q000592:standards*; D007808:Language Therapy / Q000379:methods / Q000592:standards; D008297:Male; D010700:Phonetics; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D014706:Verbal Learning