226 - Concordance Between the Receptive-Expressive Emergent Language Test (REEL) and Bayley-3 Language Scale in Toddlers with Neurodevelopmental Disorders

Publication Number: 3218.226

Tiffany Berry, Boston Children's Hospital, Boston, MA, United States; Maya J. Golden, Boston Children's Hospital, Boston, MA, United States; William Barbaresi, Harvard Medical School; Boston Children's Hospital, Boston, MA, United States; Stephen Camarata, Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, Nashville, TN, United States; Elizabeth Harstad, Division of Developmental Medicine, Boston Children's Hospital, Boston, MA, United States; Lianna Lipton, Boston Children's Hospital, Brookline, MA, United States

Background: Children diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), global developmental delay (GDD), and communication disorders often exhibit impairment in both their receptive and expressive language. Understanding these children's communication profiles is necessary to provide appropriate referrals and speech-language intervention. Improved approaches are needed to assess young children diagnosed with neurodevelopmental disorders, including the validity of parent-reported language skills.

Objective: To determine correlation between parent-report of language and standardized language assessment at time of diagnosis in children diagnosed with DSM-5 ASD, GDD, and/or communication disorders at age 12-36 months.

Design/Methods: We conducted a retrospective chart review in children who were diagnosed with DSM-5 ASD, GDD, and/or communication disorders between 12-36 months of age in a multidisciplinary subspecialty evaluation. Data from the initial clinical diagnostic assessment were abstracted from medical records and included the Receptive-Expressive Emergent Language Test (REEL) and Bayley-3 Scales of Infant and Toddler Development. The REEL was completed by parent interview, and a clinical psychologist administered the Bayley to participants. We conducted correlation analyses for receptive and expressive language age equivalents to evaluate the association between parent report of language and standardized assessment across diagnoses.

Results: Our cohort included 53 children diagnosed with ASD as toddlers (mean age 24.3 ± 3.9 months, 91% male) and 32 with another NDD diagnosis (mean age 23.6 ± 4.3 months, 56% male). Mean Bayley Language standard scores were 58.8 ± 27.2 for the ASD group and 85.1 ± 16.6 for the other NDD group (mean and standard deviation for the Bayley are 100 ± 15). Parent report of language significantly correlated with clinical testing: the REEL and Bayley receptive and expressive language age equivalents were correlated at r = 0.831 (p < 0.001) and at r = 0.892 (p < 0.001), respectively, for the ASD group, and at r = 0.768 (p < 0.001) and r = 0.776 (p < 0.001) for the other NDD group.

Conclusion(s): Parent report of children's language was highly correlated with direct language assessment among children diagnosed with neurodevelopmental disorders as toddlers, suggesting that parent report with a structured questionnaire may be a useful tool to assess language as part of initial developmental evaluations in young children.

Table: Receptive and Expressive Language Age Equivalents at Mean Age 24 Months