Syntactic and Vocabulary Development in the Written Language of Learning Disabled and Non-Learning Disabled Students at Four Age Levels

Abstract

Learning disabled students demonstrate serious problems in developing written language facility. Although written expression is one of seven aspects of achievement specified in the federal guidelines for identification of learning disabled students, measurement of written language development is quite complex. The search for a single, sensitive index of written language development is compounded by the synergistic nature of written language and the influence of contrived formats used in assessment. Syntax and vocabulary are frequently employed in research on written language development. Thus, the minimal terminable unit (T-unit) and the type/token ratio have been used as indices of syntactic and vocabulary development in analyzing samples of students' written language. Recently, computer technology has permitted the use of more complex measures of syntactic density and vocabulary intensity. The purpose of this study was to compare the written language development of learning disabled and non-learning disabled students at four age levels on measures of syntactic and vocabulary development. Implications for measurement and research are discussed.