What does this research mean for the field?

The prevalence of developmental language disorder (DLD) risk among early-elementary students in West Virginia Title I schools is 28.6%, which substantially exceeds commonly cited large-scale population estimates and varies significantly by locale and assessment instrument. Novelty: ClaimNovelty.CONTRADICTORY. Consensus alignment: ConsensusAlignment.CHALLENGES_CONSENSUS.

What question did this study set out to answer?

To estimate the prevalence of developmental language disorder (DLD) risk among early-elementary students and evaluate variations across grade, locale, and screening instruments.

August 27, 2026Language Speech and Hearing Services in Schools

Estimated Prevalence of Developmental Language Disorder Risk in West Virginia Schools

View Full Paper

Ask AI

Bookmark

Authors

MIMegan Israelsen-Augenstein MMMichelle W. Moore TTTracy Toman

Discussion

Member takes

Overview

Cross-sectional study reveals elevated developmental language disorder risk in early elementary students, indicating substantial geographic disparities and a need for calibrated screening.

Key Points

To estimate the prevalence of developmental language disorder (DLD) risk among early-elementary students and evaluate variations across grade, locale, and screening instruments.
Administered a cross-sectional screening battery to N=252 students across Grades 1–2 in six Title I schools, excluding those with nonverbal cognitive standard scores ≤ 70.
Assessed DLD risk using a dual-criterion cutoff (CELF-5 core composite ≤ 80 and TNL-2 ≤ 92) and modeled school-level clustering using mixed-effects logistic regression.
Identified 72 of 252 students (28.6%) meeting the dual-criterion threshold for DLD risk.
Demonstrated significantly elevated odds of DLD risk in town versus urban schools (odds ratio = 3.06, 95% CI [1.31, 7.15], p = .010), while grade and gender showed no significant effects.
Observed substantial divergence between instruments, with the TNL-2 identifying a larger proportion of at-risk students than the CELF-5.

Cite This Study

Israelsen-Augenstein et al. (2026) studied this question.

synapsesocial.com/papers/6a8fe9b910c91c1e926219dc https://doi.org/10.1044/2026_lshss-25-00248

View Full Paper

Ask AI

Bookmark

August 27, 2026Language Speech and Hearing Services in Schools

Estimated Prevalence of Developmental Language Disorder Risk in West Virginia Schools

View Full Paper

Ask AI

Bookmark

Authors

MIMegan Israelsen-Augenstein MMMichelle W. Moore TTTracy Toman

Discussion

Member takes

Overview

Cross-sectional study reveals elevated developmental language disorder risk in early elementary students, indicating substantial geographic disparities and a need for calibrated screening.

Key Points

To estimate the prevalence of developmental language disorder (DLD) risk among early-elementary students and evaluate variations across grade, locale, and screening instruments.
Administered a cross-sectional screening battery to N=252 students across Grades 1–2 in six Title I schools, excluding those with nonverbal cognitive standard scores ≤ 70.
Assessed DLD risk using a dual-criterion cutoff (CELF-5 core composite ≤ 80 and TNL-2 ≤ 92) and modeled school-level clustering using mixed-effects logistic regression.
Identified 72 of 252 students (28.6%) meeting the dual-criterion threshold for DLD risk.
Demonstrated significantly elevated odds of DLD risk in town versus urban schools (odds ratio = 3.06, 95% CI [1.31, 7.15], p = .010), while grade and gender showed no significant effects.
Observed substantial divergence between instruments, with the TNL-2 identifying a larger proportion of at-risk students than the CELF-5.

Cite This Study

Israelsen-Augenstein et al. (2026) studied this question.

synapsesocial.com/papers/6a8fe9b910c91c1e926219dc https://doi.org/10.1044/2026_lshss-25-00248

View Full Paper

Ask AI

Bookmark