USE OF THE DIFFERENTIAL ABILITY SCALES (DAS) SPECIAL NONVERBAL COMPOSITE AMONG YOUNG-CHILDREN WITH LINGUISTIC DIFFERENCES

The Differential Ability Scales (DAS) was administered to young childr en (ages 3 to 6) to determine the appropriateness of the instrument wi th children with linguistic differences. Specifically, the Special Non verbal Composite (SNC) of the DAS was investigated for children with l inguistic differences and children who speak English as their first la nguage. The ability of the SNC to differentiate children with linguist ic differences as opposed to more global developmental delays was also of interest. The children who participated in the study were grouped as: (a) no identified concern, English as primary language (control); (b) identified as having Specific Language Impairment (SLI); (c) ident ified as Deaf/Hearing Impaired (Deaf/HI); (d) identified as Developmen tally Delayed (DD); or (e) no identified develop mental concern, Engli sh as a Second Language/Limited English Proficiency (ESL/LEP). Childre n in the SLI, Deaf/HI, and DD groups had been identified previously by their school district, local Speech and Hearing Clinic, or other agen cy. Children in the ESL/LEP group were from a variety of cultural back grounds and spoke minimal English. Results indicate that SNC scores ob tained for children in the ESL/LEP group were comparable to those obta ined by the control group. Children in the SLI and Deaf/HI groups obta ined scores lower than those of the control and ESL/LEP groups; howeve r, their scores were significantly higher than those obtained by the c hildren in the DD group. Implications for the use of the SNC in the as sessment of young children with linguistic differences are discussed.