About this srcd poster session

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Panel information
Panel 5. Developmental Disabilities

Abstract

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Late talkers (LTs) are toddlers who show delayed productive vocabulary but no other cognitive or developmental delay (Desmarais et al., 2008). Children raised in low socioeconomic (SES) households have heightened susceptibility of being LTs because they may experience language input that is not of sufficient quality to optimize their early language development (Rowe et al., 2008), though genetics also play a role in SES differences (Trzaskowski et al., 2014). Large population-based studies have identified risk factors for LTs, including male sex, preterm birth, low birthweight, family history of LT, living in a bilingual home, larger household size, and lower maternal education (Collisson et al., 2016; Horwitz et al., 2003; Zubrick et al., 2007). These studies also revealed protective factors for LTs, including informal play with their mother, daily book reading, and enrollment in childcare center (Collisson et al., 2016). However, low-SES families are typically underrepresented in these studies and their risk and protective factors for LTs may differ from other SES groups. Thus, understanding the risk and protective factors for low-SES families may have implications for designing appropriate interventions. The current study examined whether and to what extent socio-demographic variables were associated with LT status in a low-SES sample.

As part of a larger longitudinal study, low-SES mothers (n=199) completed sociodemographic questionnaires and the MacArthur Bates Communication Development Inventory (CDI:WS; Fenson et al., 2007) when their children were 24-30 months-old. Children were identified as LTs or non-LTs using 10th percentile cutoff values of the CDI 3rd edition normative scores by gender.

A binomial logistic regression was run to examine the probability of being identified as a LT or non-LT based on family and child characteristics: mother’s education, mother’s employment, mother’s partner status, annual income, household size, home language, child’s biological sex, and enrollment in daycare. While the logistic regression model was statistically significant, χ2(10) = 19.39, p = .036, the only statistically significant predictor variable was enrollment in daycare (p = .002; see Table 1). Children not attending daycare had 5.03 times higher odds of being identified as an LT than children attending daycare at age 2 years.

Given our study is the first to focus on risk factors in a low-SES sample, our findings have implications for research, policy, and practice, specifically relating to daycare access during the early toddler years. Studies suggest that reducing childcare costs and increasing childcare availability increase the use of childcare centers and increase parent employment (Morrissey, 2015). Thus, making childcare more affordable and accessible for families may impact children’s language. These policy implications are especially relevant for low-SES children at risk for language delay. Low-SES children may not be exposed to high-quality language at home (Huttenlocher et al., 2010), so those attending daycare may be exposed to more and/or higher quality language input than their peers. Further research should examine other characteristics of daycare attendance that may be related to LT status identification such as quality of childcare received, quality and quantity of language exposure, and number of hours of daycare per week.

Author information

Author	Role
Daniela Avelar, The Ohio State University	Presenting author
Britt Singletary, The Ohio State University	Non-presenting author
Philip S. Dale, University of New Mexico	Non-presenting author
Laura M. Justice, The Ohio State University	Non-presenting author

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