A Note on Intelligence Assessment Within Studies of Specific Language Impairment

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to review the procedures, reported in three journals, that researchers have adopted to evaluate the intelligence of children with specific language impairment. The results indicated that researchers used one of the following procedures: no mention of intelligence, statements of negative history for mental retardation (without further documentation), reporting cut-off scores on one or more standardized assessment instruments, reporting means on one or more standardized assessment instruments, or reporting individual test scores from such instruments. A majority of researchers adopted the procedures in the first three categories. Implications of such reporting procedures are discussed.