PPVT as a measure of language impairment?

[plahey at mindspring.com]

The PPVT  is not a sensitive indicator of language impairment.   Some
children so labelled have
problems with receptive vocabulary, some do not.

One example of what  scores look like--  In data collected by Jan Edwards
and myself
on 66 children with specific language impairment (I.e., children who  appear
to be developing normally in areas other than language), the mean standard
score on the PPVT-R was
approximately 92 (SD 15).  The mean score of a subgroup of  these children
(n=17) who had only expressive language impairments was 98 (SD 12); the mean
score of a subgroup (n=28) who had both receptive and expressive impairment
was  83 (SD 16).   For further description of these particular children see

Lahey, M., & Edwards, J.  (1995).  Why do children with specific langauge
impairment name pictures more slowly than their peers? Journal of Speech and
Hearing Research, 39, 1081-1098.

Other readings that may be of interest::

Lahey, M.  (1990).  Who shall be called language disordered?  Some
reflections and one perspective.  Journal of Speech and Hearing Disorders,
55, 612-620.

Lahey, M.  (1988).  Language disorders and language development.  NY:
Macmillan.

There are a number of other texts and  articles on
assessing and subtyping  children with language impairment.  I don't
have the refereneces in front of me now, but a search should turn up a
wealth of  information.

M. Lahey




> I was wondering if anyone has information as to the sensitivity of
>the Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test (or any similar receptive vocabulary
>test) in detecting language impairments in children?  It is often included
>in a battery of tests administered to children, and so my questions are:
>1. how often does it expose a problem, when used with language-impaired
>children ?
>2.What do the scores look like, i.e. are they just at the low
>end of the normal range (85-115) or are they below normal and by how much?
>3.Also, how do children with expressive language deficits score on it:
>"healthy" normal or "low end of normal" range?
> Any insights and references would be appreciated. Thanks.
>
>Maria Mody, Ph.D.
>Asst. Professor
>Albert Einstein College of Medicine
>
>