[Parent participation in the treatment of dyslexic children - the results of a paper-pencil questionnaire]. / Elternpartizipation in der Therapie lese- und rechtschreibschwacher Kinder. Ergebnisse einer Fragebogenerhebung.

OBJECTIVE: This study examined the degree and manner of involving parents in the treatment of dyslexic children. The study also identified therapeutic variables predicting the extent of parent involvement and the reasons for any instances of failed involvement. METHOD: A sample of 53 out of 120 randomly selected German dyslexia therapists (response rate: 44 %) filled out a paper-pencil questionnaire assessing the degree and manner of parent involvement in the treatment of dyslexic children. Furthermore, therapists' attitudes toward parent involvement and their subjective competence when working with parents were assessed. RESULTS: The most common forms of parent involvement occurred during anamnesis and when drawing up recommendations for home exercises. The therapists' attitudes toward working with parents predicted the extent of parent involvement (ß = .58). There was a significant correlation between working with parents and the subjective competence of the therapist (r = .28), which was mediated by therapists' attitudes toward parent involvement. Disinterest on the part of parents and therapists' lack of time proved to be reasons for less parent involvement. DISCUSSION: Despite declared positive attitudes toward working with parents, the involvement of parents in the therapeutic process by therapists was limited.

[The German early lexical development inventory ELAN in parent's opinion]. / Der Elternfragebogen ELAN zur Wortschatzentwicklung im frühen Kindesalter im Urteil der Eltern.

The ELAN is a valid and reliable German questionnaire scale (parent report measure) which aims to assess the size of expressive vocabulary of children aged 16 to 26 months. It is used as a screening tool to detect late talkers. The ELAN also meets the quality criteria usefulness, economy and standardization. The purpose of the present study was to investigate the acceptance of the ELAN by a specially designed standardized evaluation questionnaire consisting of 17 items with a closed response-set and 2 items focusing on suggestions for improvement (open response-set). ELAN and evaluation questionnaire were filled out by 123 primary care givers for monolingual German children growing up in Heidelberg and Stuttgart and their surrounding areas (68 boys, 55 girls; mean age: 21.8; SD 3.3 months). The number of missing answers was low, on average 5.9 %. About half of the participants (n = 61) needed 15 minutes or less to fill out the ELAN. The majority felt the ELAN was well-structured (96 %) and neither too long nor too short. 98 % found the wording easily understandable. 87% of the participants enjoyed filling it out. 76 % believed that the ELAN recorded the lexical abilities of a child correctly. 22 % became uncertain whether their child's verbal development is age-adequate. The ELAN helped 37% to better assess the verbal abilities of their child. 58% got an idea of the words which young children are able to use. 67% rated the diagnostic utility of the ELAN for early detection of retarded language development as "very good" or "good" and only 3% as "bad" 67% preferred to apply the ELAN at the German pediatric screening U7, but would not like to fill it out in the waiting room (77%), but at home (69%) to reduce stress experience. It can be concluded that the ELAN was accepted by its respondents.

Children with developmental language delay at 24 months of age: results of a diagnostic work-up.

The aim of this study was to evaluate if a diagnostic work-up should be recommended for 2-year-old children with developmental language delay (LD), or if the widely chosen 'wait and see' strategy is adequate. Children with LD were identified in paediatric practices during routine developmental check-ups using a German parent-report screening questionnaire (adapted from the MacArthur Communicative Development Inventories). A standardized German instrument and the Netherlands version of Bayley Scales of Infant Development (2nd ed.) were used to assess language ability and nonverbal cognitive development respectively in 100 children with LD (65 males, 35 females; mean age 24.7 mo [SD 0.9]) and a control group of 53 children with normal language development (33 males, 20 females; mean age 24.6 mo [SD 0.8]). Neurological and audiometric testing were also performed. Sixty-one per cent of the LD group had specific expressive LD and 17% specific receptive-expressive LD. In 22%, LD was associated with other neurodevelopmental problems, 6% showed significant deficits in nonverbal cognitive abilities, and in 12%, nonverbal cognitive abilities were borderline. Four per cent fulfilled the criteria of childhood autism. LD at 2 years proved to represent a sensitive marker for different developmental problems. Adequate early intervention requires a clear distinction between specific expressive or receptive-expressive LD and LD associated with other neurodevelopmental problems. Though catch-up development is to be expected in a substantial proportion of 'late talkers', our data demonstrate that a general 'wait and see' approach is not justified in young children with LD. A proposal for a rational diagnostic work-up is presented.