Young children with language difficulties: a dimensional approach to subgrouping.
Use joint-attention and symbol tasks to sort late-talking preschoolers into four teachable subgroups instead of one vague label.
01Research in Context
What this study did
Jansen et al. (2013) looked at preschoolers who had trouble talking.
They used cluster math to see if the kids split into clear groups.
The team watched joint attention and how kids used symbols to find patterns.
What they found
Four clean sub-groups showed up.
Joint-attention and symbol skills were the big dividers.
Kids in each group acted more like each other than like the other three.
How this fits with other research
Maes et al. (2023) did the same math trick on autistic preschoolers.
Instead of joint attention, they used tiny voice details and also found five groups.
Together the papers say: one label like “language delay” hides many real profiles.
Nevill et al. (2019) took the idea into the real world.
They showed the same child can land in different groups if you switch tests or ask parents.
So your choice of tool changes the profile you see.
Why it matters
Stop calling every late talker “language delayed.”
Run a quick joint-attention or symbol task, then match teaching to the cluster you see.
If scores differ across tools, believe the pattern, not one number.
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02At a glance
03Original abstract
A dimensional approach was used to create bottom-up constructed subgroups that captured the behavioral heterogeneity in 36 Dutch-speaking children with language difficulties. Four subgroups were delineated based upon differences in cognitive ability, symbol understanding, joint attention and autism spectrum disorder related characteristics. Children with a different developmental disorder were found within a single cluster. Therefore, the results of this study suggest that bottom-up constructed subgroups might capture the heterogeneous behavioral profiles of young children with developmental difficulties in a more meaningful way. Furthermore, joint attention and symbol understanding seem important skills to assess in young children presenting with language difficulties.
Research in developmental disabilities, 2013 · doi:10.1016/j.ridd.2013.08.028