Impact of Bilingualism and Demographic Factors on theAge at Diagnosis of Language Impairment

2012

Lisa Shulman
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Young children with developmental disabilities benefit from early diagnosis and early intervention services, but not all children are able to access services with ease. We compared the demographic characteristics in children diagnosed with LI in an ethnic diverse population. We performed a chart review of all children presenting to a University Affiliated Program for multidisciplinary evaluation in 2009,who received a diagnosis of language impairment, ages 1 to 6. We identified 259 children, 61% boys, 98% US born, 5% White, 66% Hispanic, 24% African American(AA), 88% enrolled in Medicaid, 60% bilinguals(English Spanish). Maternal age at time of birth was 286 years(y),48% US-born, 28% did not finish High School(HS). Paternal age at birth was 317y, 27% US born. Mean age of children at evaluation was 3518 months(m). There was no difference in age at diagnosis by ethnicity, gender, child/parental country of origin, parental age or Medicaid use.

Conference presentations and posters presented

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