Clinicians are well-trained in collecting and reporting thorough family and medical case histories of their clients. This information, however, is most often used as a backdrop for direct assessment measures, which are the actual standards for determining eligibility for services. In recent years, the evidence base concerning risk factors for communication disorders has steadily increased. The four articles in this self-study not only demonstrate the significant value of case history information, but suggest that diagnostic standards in the future will weigh risk factors more heavily along with assessment scores.

Learning Outcomes
You will be able to:

• summarize how and which risk factors increase a child's likelihood for two common communication disorders: specific language impairment and hearing loss
• describe how genetic and environmental risks affect language outcomes in children with fragile X syndrome
• discuss finiteness marking as a potential clinical marker for adolescents with specific language impairment

Contents

The following articles are included in this course:

• Case History Risk Factors for Specific Language Impairment: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis, by Johanna M. Rudolph
• High Risk Factors Associated With Early Childhood Hearing Loss: A 3-Year Review, by Kelsey A. Dumanch, Lenore Holte, Tammy O'Hollearn, Elizabeth Walker, Jacob Clark, and Jacob Oleson
• Pragmatic Language Features of Mothers With the FMR1 Premutation Are Associated With the Language Outcomes of Adolescents and Young Adults With Fragile X Syndrome, by Jessica Klusek, Sara E. McGrath, Leonard Abbeduto, and Jane E. Roberts
• Grammar Clinical Marker Yields Substantial Heritability for Language Impairments in 16-Year-Old Twins, by Philip S. Dale, Mabel L. Rice, Kaili Rimfeld, and Marianna E. Hayiou-Thomas

Learning Assessment
Online, multiple-choice exam