Empirical classification of speech/language impairment in children. I. Identification of speech/language categories.

Cluster analysis was employed to classify speech/language impairment in a sample of 347 children 5 years of age. Based on scores on a variety of speech and language tests, four groups of children with similar linguistic profiles were identified. These groups were labeled high overall, low overall, poor auditory comprehension, and poor articulation. Differences among these groups according to cognitive, developmental, demographic, and audiometry variables were examined. The low overall group was most disadvantaged on all measures, the high overall group was most advantaged, and the poor articulation and poor auditory comprehension groups were intermediate. The implications of these findings for the development of a theory of the relationship between speech/language and psychiatric disorders are discussed.