Predicting Speech and Phonological Awareness Outcomes in Late Talking and Typically Developing Preschool Children Using Early Phonological Pattern Use

Children who show an early delay in their expressive language development are referred to as late talkers (Rescorla & Dale, 2013). Rather than serving as a formal diagnosis, late talker is a descriptive term for a child who is at increased risk of a later diagnosis of developmental language disorder (DLD, Fisher, 2017). Late talkers are typically identified by an expressive vocabulary of fewer than 50 words or a lack of word combinations at age 2 years (Rescorla, 1989). The expressive language delay is not secondary to another condition, for example, autism or intellectual disability, although it may be accompanied by a receptive language delay (Desmarais et al., 2008; Fenson et al., 2007; Rescorla, 2011; Rescorla & Dale, 2013). While most late talkers eventually catch up to their typically developing peers, many do not (Fisher, 2017; Rescorla, 2002). Rates of recovery range from 56% to 94% (Dale et al., 2003; Paul et al., 1997; Rescorla, 1989, 2002). This considerable variation is likely due to differences across studies in their inclusion criteria, what constitutes recovery, the language outcomes measured, and the ages at which they are measured. Most studies have reported late talker outcomes in vocabulary, grammar, or general expressive language abilities (Fisher, 2017), although some have described phonological outcomes. However, to our knowledge, none have attempted to identify predictors of phonological outcomes in these children.