title: School readiness of children with language impairment: predicting literacy skills from pre-literacy and social-behavioural dimensions.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  School readiness generally captures the notion that children do best when they arrive at formal schooling with a certain threshold of skill that will help them thrive in the classroom's academic and social milieu.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  To examine the dimensionality of the construct of school readiness among children with language impairment (LI), as well as the extent to which these dimensions relate to children's end-of-kindergarten literacy skills.
  
  
  METHODS
  Participants were 136 preschool-aged children with LI. Children were assessed on measures of pre-literacy, social, and behavioural skills in preschool and reading and spelling in kindergarten.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Confirmatory factor analyses indicated that school readiness for this sample of children with LI is best characterized as two dimensions: pre-literacy and socio-emotional. Of the two dimensions, pre-literacy readiness was predictive of children's future performance in reading and spelling.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The results further our theoretical understanding of the dimensions of school readiness, as well as our knowledge of how these skills are related among children with LI. Identifying domain-specific readiness skills that are predictive of kindergarten success can help to identify means of early assessment and targets for speech-language intervention.
authors.affiliation: American Institutes for Research.
authors.forename: Jill M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Pentimonti
authors.affiliation: College of Education and Human Ecology, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, USA.
authors.forename: Kimberly A
authors.initials: KA
authors.lastname: Murphy
authors.affiliation: College of Education and Human Ecology, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, USA.
authors.forename: Laura M
authors.initials: LM
authors.lastname: Justice
authors.affiliation: College of Education and Human Ecology, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, USA.
authors.forename: Jessica A R
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Logan
authors.affiliation: Early Childhood, Physical & Special Education, University of Toledo, Toledo, OH, USA.
authors.forename: Joan N
authors.initials: JN
authors.lastname: Kaderavek
mesh_terms: D000124:Achievement; D001077:Aptitude Tests; D002653:Child Behavior Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000523:psychology; D002675:Child, Preschool; D015897:Comorbidity; D019988:Children with Disabilities / Q000523:psychology; D004519:Education, Special; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007805:Language Development Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000523:psychology; D007807:Language Tests; D000067010:Literacy; D008297:Male; D015146:Midwestern United States; D012919:Social Behavior; D000067404:Social Communication Disorder / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000523:psychology; D013068:Speech Production Measurement; D013334:Students
keywords: language impairment; literacy skills; school readiness