title: Validity of the language development survey in infants born preterm.
abstract: Preterm infants are at greater risk of language delay. Early identification of language delay is essential to improve functional outcome in these children.
  
  
  
  To examine the concurrent validity of Rescorla's Language Development Survey and the Bayley Scales of Infant and Toddler Development (Bayley-III) at 18months corrected age in preterm infants.
  
  
  
  Test accuracy study.
  
  
  
  189 preterm infants born <29weeks were assessed at 18months.
  
  
  
  The Language Development Survey, a parent-reported screening instrument, was administered in French concurrently with the Language Scales of the Bayley-III. Receiver-Operating-Characteristics curves were used to determine optimal cut-off score on the Language Development Survey to identify Bayley-III score <85. Sensitivity, specificity, positive and negative predictive values, and κ coefficient were calculated.
  
  
  
  Using Rescorla's original cut-off scores of ≤10 words for boys and ≤24 for girls, sensitivity was 76% and 88% for boys and girls, respectively, and specificity was 73% and 52% for boys and girls, respectively, in identifying language delay as per the Bayley-III. The optimal threshold was ≤10 words for both boys and girls. In girls, lowering the cut-off score decreased sensitivity (79%), but improved specificity (82%), thus lowering the number of false-positives.
  
  
  
  Our findings support using the Language Development Survey as an expressive language screener in preterm infants.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatrics, CHU Sainte-Justine, 3175 Chemin de la Côte-Ste-Catherine, Montreal, Quebec H3T 1C5, Canada. Electronic address: camille.beaulieu.poulin@umontreal.ca.
authors.forename: Camille
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Beaulieu-Poulin
authors.affiliation: School of Rehabilitation, Faculty of Medicine, University of Montreal, C.P. 6128, succursale Centre-Ville, Montreal, Quebec H3C 3J7, Canada. Electronic address: marie-noelle.simard@umontreal.ca.
authors.forename: Marie-Noëlle
authors.initials: MN
authors.lastname: Simard
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatrics, CHU Sainte-Justine, 3175 Chemin de la Côte-Ste-Catherine, Montreal, Quebec H3T 1C5, Canada. Electronic address: helene.babakissa@umontreal.ca.
authors.forename: Hélène
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Babakissa
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatrics, CHU Sainte-Justine, 3175 Chemin de la Côte-Ste-Catherine, Montreal, Quebec H3T 1C5, Canada. Electronic address: francine.lefebvre.2@umontreal.ca.
authors.forename: Francine
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Lefebvre
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatrics, CHU Sainte-Justine, 3175 Chemin de la Côte-Ste-Catherine, Montreal, Quebec H3T 1C5, Canada. Electronic address: thuy.mai.luu@umontreal.ca.
authors.forename: Thuy Mai
authors.initials: TM
authors.lastname: Luu
mesh_terms: D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D007234:Infant, Premature / Q000254:growth & development*; D007804:Language Development; D007805:Language Development Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000453:epidemiology; D008297:Male; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests / Q000592:standards*; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D012737:Sex Factors; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires / Q000592:standards*
keywords: Bayley scales of infant development; Developmental screening; Language delay; Language development survey; Preterm infants