How Well Do Communication Profiles at 2 Years of Age Predict Outcomes at 9-10 Years of Age in Children With Cerebral Palsy?

PURPOSE Early identification of diverging developmental trajectories is important to optimize communication interventions for children with cerebral palsy (CP). The aim of this study was to examine if communication profiles at 2 years of age predicted speech, language, and communication outcomes at 9-10 years of age in children with CP. METHOD Twenty-three children with CP (Mage = 9;10 [years;months]) participated in the study comprising of three mutually exclusive 2-year speech-language profiles: not yet talking (n = 10), emerging talkers (n = 9), and established talkers (n = 4). Using generalized linear regression and Kruskal-Wallis rank sum tests, we examined if 2-year speech-language profiles predicted speech, language, and communication outcomes at 9-10 years of age. Outcomes at 9-10 years of age were obtained from classification systems, spontaneous language samples, elicited speech tasks, and parent report. RESULTS Based on 2-year speech-language profiles, we found significant differences in speech, language, and communication outcomes at 9-10 years of age. Specifically, children who were not talking at 2 years of age had more restricted outcomes than children who were emerging or established talkers at 2 years of age. CONCLUSION Our study's results provide preliminary evidence that early communication interventions can and should be differentiated based on communication abilities at 2 years of age to maximize later communication outcomes for children with CP.