Journal article
The development and validation of the Short Language Measure (SLaM): A brief measure of general language ability for children in their first year at school
Jessica Matov, Fiona Mensah, Fallon Cook, Sheena Reilly, Richard Dowell
International Journal of Language & Communication Disorders | WILEY | Published : 2020
Abstract
BACKGROUND: There is no sufficiently accurate short-language measure that could be used by speech-language pathologists, teachers or paraprofessionals to screen young school-aged children to identify those requiring in-depth language evaluations. This may be due to poor development of the available measures, which have omitted crucial test development steps. Applying more stringent development procedures could result in a measure with sufficient accuracy. AIMS: To create and validate a short-language measure that has acceptable accuracy, validity and reliability, and which can be used to identify children who require further assessment and/or referral to speech-language services. METHODS & P..
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Awarded by Australian National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Acknowledgements
The authors thank the participating families. They also thank Dr Colleen Holt for linguistics input and a review of SLaM's test items. Fiona Mensah and Sheena Reilly received Australian National Health and Medical Research Council Early Career and Career Development Fellowships (FM #1037449; #1111160), and Practitioner Fellowships (SR, #491210; #1041892). Jessica Matov was supported through an Australian Government Research Training Program Scholarship. Research at the Murdoch Children's Research Institute is supported by the Victorian Government's Operational Infrastructure Support Program. Declaration of interest: The authors report no conflicts of interest. The authors alone are responsible for the content and writing of the paper.