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Evaluating Part V of the German version of the Token Test as a screening of specific language impairment in preschoolers

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  03 December 2019

Michaela Schmoeger Open the ORCID record for Michaela Schmoeger [Opens in a new window] ,
Matthias Deckert Open the ORCID record for Matthias Deckert [Opens in a new window] ,
Brigitte Eisenwort ,
Benjamin Loader ,
Annemarie Hofmair ,
Eduard Auff  and
Ulrike Willinger
Michaela Schmoeger*
Affiliation:
Medical University of Vienna
Matthias Deckert
Affiliation:
Medical University of Vienna
Brigitte Eisenwort
Affiliation:
Medical University of Vienna
Benjamin Loader
Affiliation:
Medical University of Vienna
Annemarie Hofmair
Affiliation:
Medical University of Vienna
Eduard Auff
Affiliation:
Medical University of Vienna
Ulrike Willinger
Affiliation:
Medical University of Vienna
*
*Corresponding author. Email: michaela.schmoeger@meduniwien.ac.at
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Abstract

Specific language impairment (SLI) is a very common childhood disorder that is characterized by impairments in expressive and/or receptive language regarding different modalities. Part V of the German version of the Token Test was evaluated as a potential screening tool for the early detection of SLI. Forty-five male and 16 female monolingual native German-speaking preschoolers with SLI (4–6 years) and 61 age- and gender-matched typically developing controls were examined with a German version of the Token Test and an established intelligence measure. Token Test performance was significantly worse in preschoolers with SLI including greater group differences at age 4 than at ages 5 and 6. Analyses showed a detection rate of 77% for Part V of the Token Test in the whole sample as well as 85.1% at age 4, 80.6% at age 5, and a nonsignificant detection at age 6. Correctly detected preschoolers with SLI showed significantly worse performance than typically developing controls regarding nonverbal and verbal intelligence, numeracy, problem solving, working memory, visual attention, and memory. Children with SLI show worse Token Test performance, whereas at ages 4 and 5, Part V of the Token Test could potentially serve as a screening tool for the detection of SLI.

Keywords

cognitive performanceintelligencelanguage disorderpreschoolersscreeningspecific language impairmentToken Test
Type
Original Article
Information
Applied Psycholinguistics , Volume 41 , Issue 1 , January 2020 , pp. 237 - 258
Copyright
© Cambridge University Press 2019 

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