Patterns of Clinical Follow-Up for Early Language Evaluations Among Spanish-Speaking Families

This study investigated patterns of clinical follow-up exhibited by primarily Spanish-speaking families whose children were referred for diagnostic evaluation based on language concerns identified from a commonly used developmental screener, and investigated child and family factors associated with subsequent follow-up. A total of 440 children (211 females) ages 1–36 months ( M = 20.55, SD = 9.45) agreed to participate in the study. Of the total sample, 71 children (30 female) ages 5–36 months ( M = 23.51, SD = 6.71) were referred for diagnostic evaluation due to language concerns from the developmental screener. One month after the referral recommendation, the 71 families were contacted to determine the status of the referral for a diagnostic evaluation. Logistic regression was used to obtain odds ratios of factors hypothesized to influence pursuing a diagnostic evaluation. Findings revealed that of participants contacted 61.82% had pursued a diagnostic evaluation within one month of the recommendation. Of all the families contacted, 29.09% reported their child was receiving speech-language therapy within the 1-month timeframe. Consistent with our hypothesis, the younger the child was at the point of referral, the more likely the family was to pursue a diagnostic evaluation. Inconsistent with our hypothesis, maternal education and access to private insurance were not significantly related to the outcome of pursuing an evaluation. Additional information is needed to more fully understand the factors involved in deciding to pursue a diagnostic evaluation following language concerns identified through screening.