# Profiles and Progress in Spanish English Bilinguals with Language Impairment: Development of a Criterion Reference Measure

> **NIH NIH R01** · TEMPLE UNIV OF THE COMMONWEALTH · 2020 · $605,786

## Abstract

PROJECT ABSTRACT/SUMMARY
We have made significant gains in the correct classification of Spanish-English bilinguals with language
impairment though the identification of clinical markers of impairment. Yet a hurdle in reducing the health
disparities associated with language impairment in bilingual populations is the need to establish developmental
milestones that can serve as the foundation for goal setting and evaluation of progress as a function of language
intervention. We know that experiential factors (age of acquisition and language use) interact with bilingual
language outcomes. But we do not have a detailed picture of qualitative and quantitative differences between
bilingual children with language impairment and their typically developing peers in the semantics and
morphosyntax domains. The proposed project will translate the knowledge base regarding clinical markers of
impairment, experiential factors, and knowledge of the linguistic systems of English and Spanish to the
development of a clinical tool. The focus of the tool is to benchmark language learning in bilingual children
growing up in the US context. Thus, the major aim of this project is to develop and validate a criterion
referenced inventory and set of probes in Spanish and English. These will be useful for intervention
planning and to measure change as a function of language intervention. This tool will target 4-10 year old
Spanish English bilinguals with and without language impairment. We will achieve this aim by 1) developing and
evaluating an extension of our existing item set; 2) conducting an item tryout study to establish an item set for
testing semantic and morphosyntactic performance profiles; and 3) field testing and validating a inventory and
probes for profiling patterns of mastery in bilingual children with language impairment that is normed to account
for age and language experience. To achieve these milestones, we will recruit 1200 bilingual children between
the ages of 4 and 10 years of age from representative U.S. bilingual populations both in regard to dialect and
SES. Using a modified matrix model, children will complete a battery of test items that tap key aspects of
lexical-semantic and grammatical knowledge in English and Spanish. To make this tool maximally useful in
clinical settings, we will program the task to be delivered by computer so that appropriate targets are selected
based on the child's age and language experience and that sufficient targets are administered to accurately
establish mastery and non-mastery. This research will form the foundation of a clinical tool that can be used by
clinicians to establish goals and to document progress as a function of language intervention. This work will
further our research in language impairment, especially with bilingual children, because we will document a
broad profile of lexical semantic and morphosyntactic skills over a wider age range than is usually studied. The
tools developed will also be usef...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 9933877
- **Project number:** 5R01DC015588-05
- **Recipient organization:** TEMPLE UNIV OF THE COMMONWEALTH
- **Principal Investigator:** Lisa M. Bedore
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $605,786
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2016-06-01 → 2023-05-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/9933877

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 9933877, Profiles and Progress in Spanish English Bilinguals with Language Impairment: Development of a Criterion Reference Measure (5R01DC015588-05). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-22 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/9933877. Licensed CC0.

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