Pediatric Language on the Praxis SLP: DLD, ASD & Milestones

Pediatric language spans a huge chunk of the Praxis 5331 — receptive and expressive language milestones, DLD (developmental language disorder), autism, and evidence-based intervention. This is the highest-yield pediatric review.

Language milestones — memorize the flags

• 12 mo: first word, joint attention, points to request.
• 18 mo: 10–50 words. Red flag: fewer than 10.
• 24 mo: 50+ words, 2-word combinations. Red flag: fewer than 50 words or no combinations = "late talker" referral.
• 36 mo: 3–4 word sentences, ~75% intelligibility to strangers.
• 48 mo: tells simple stories, ~100% intelligibility, follows 2–3 step directions.
• 60 mo: narrative structure, complex sentences, emerging literacy skills.

Brown's 14 morphemes (order matters)

1. Present progressive -ing (no aux)
2. In
3. On
4. Regular plural -s
5. Irregular past (went, ran)
6. Possessive 's
7. Uncontractible copula (He is.)
8. Articles (a, the)
9. Regular past -ed
10. Regular 3rd person -s
11. Irregular 3rd person (has, does)
12. Uncontractible auxiliary
13. Contractible copula (He's here.)
14. Contractible auxiliary (He's going.)

Developmental Language Disorder (DLD)

• Previously called SLI (specific language impairment). Diagnostic term shifted with the 2017 CATALISE consensus.
• Language difficulties not explained by hearing loss, ASD, intellectual disability, or neurological condition.
• Hallmark: morphosyntactic deficits — tense marking omission ("Yesterday he walk"), pronoun errors, difficulty with complex syntax.
• Prevalence: ~7% of kindergarten children.
• High risk for later reading disability.

Autism spectrum disorder — SLP-relevant features

• Social communication deficits: joint attention, reciprocal conversation, pragmatics.
• Restricted/repetitive behaviors and interests.
• M-CHAT-R/F: 18-month autism screener (SLP-relevant).
• Evidence-based: naturalistic developmental behavioral interventions (JASPER, ESDM, PRT), AAC for minimally verbal children (do NOT delay AAC waiting for speech).
• Neurodiversity-affirming practice: reduce "quiet hands" and eye-contact goals; focus on functional communication and self-advocacy.

Phonological processes — suppression ages

• Final consonant deletion: gone by 3;3
• Fronting (velar/palatal): gone by 3;6
• Weak syllable deletion: gone by 4;0
• Cluster reduction: gone by 4;0 (some by 5;0)
• Gliding of liquids (/w/ for /r/, /l/): gone by 5;0–7;0
• Stopping: gone by 3;0 (for /f, s/) up to 5;0 (for /th/)

Standardized assessment favorites

• CELF-5: comprehensive language, ages 5–21.
• PLS-5: ages birth to 7;11, receptive and expressive.
• PPVT-5 / EOWPVT: receptive/expressive vocabulary.
• GFTA-3: articulation.
• KLPA-3: phonological analysis, paired with GFTA.

Dynamic assessment for CLD populations

Standardized tests normed on monolingual English speakers under-identify or over-identify culturally/linguistically diverse children. Dynamic assessment (test–teach–retest) showsmodifiability: children with DLD show minimal gain even with scaffolding; typically developing dual-language learners show rapid gains. This distinction is a Praxis favorite.

Evidence-based intervention hierarchy (preschool)

• Naturalistic strategies: milieu teaching, focused stimulation, parent coaching (Hanen).
• Explicit approaches for older or more severely affected: recast, expansion, elicited production.
• Literacy-connected interventions from preschool onward — DLD prevention of later reading disability.