Publication
Narrative assessment for Cantonese-speaking children.
Publisher:
American Speech Language Hearing Association
Date:
06-2010
DOI:
10.1044/1092-4388(2009/08-0039)
Abstract: This study examined the narrative skills of Cantonese-speaking school-age children to fill a need for a normative language test for school-age children. To provide a benchmark of the narrative skills of Cantonese-speaking children to identify which of the microstructure components was the best predictor of age and to determine the diagnostic accuracy of the test components. Data were collected from 1,120 Cantonese-speaking children between the ages of 4 (years months) and 12 , using a story-retell of a 24-frame picture series. Four narrative components (syntactic complexity, semantic score, referencing, and connective use) were measured. Each measure reflected significant age-related differences in narrative ability. Regression analyses revealed that vocabulary and syntactic complexity were the best predictors of grade. All measures showed high sensitivity (86%–94%) but relatively low specificity (60%–90%) and modest likelihood ratio (LR) values: LR+ (2.15–9.42) and LR− (0.07–0.34). Narrative assessment can be standardized to be a reliable and valid instrument to assist in the identification of children with language impairment. Syntactic complexity is not only a strong predictor of grade but was also particularly vulnerable in Cantonese-speaking children with specific language impairment. Further diagnostic research using narrative analysis is warranted.