Non-word repetition and sentence repetition performance in 2-3 years old late talkers and normal children

Objectives: The purposes of this study were to compare the non-word repetition and sentence repetition performance in late talkers compared to normal children, and to investigate the correlation among non-word repetition, sentence repetition and various other factors. Methods: A total of 40 children composed of 20 late talkers aged from 2 to 3 years old and 20 normal children participated in this study. Results: The results were as follows: a 2-way mixed ANOVA result at each syllable length showed that there was no significant difference on the non-word repetition performance between late talkers and normal children. However both group exhibited a word length effect: as the length of non-words increased, children's performance (percent accuracy of repeating non-words) decreased. On the sentence repetition task, normal children significantly outperformed late talkers. Correlation analysis showed that the non-word repetition performance was significantly correlated with chronological age and sentence repetition performance in normal children. However, in late talkers the non-word repetition performance was significantly correlated with the percent of correct consonant on a standardized articulation test and sentence repetition performance. Conclusion: These results suggest that the sentence repetition performance may be more reliable than the non-word repetition task for accurately identifying late talkers.