Assertive and responsive conversational skills of Italian-speaking late talkers

Background: Previous research on the pragmatic abilities of late talkers at 24 months of age indicates that they have difficulties initiating conversational interactions, but possess intact responsiveness skills. This study uses a parent-administered questionnaire for evaluating the conversational skills of late talkers and suggesting pragmatic intervention goals. Aim: To examine the conversational assertiveness and responsiveness of late talkers at 2 years of age. Methods & Procedures: A parent report measure, The Social Conversational Skills Rating Scale-Italian version, was administered to 30 parents of late talkers, 30 parents of typically developing children matched for age, and 30 parents of younger, typically developing children matched for vocabulary size. Outcomes & Results: The late talkers received significantly lower ratings for both assertiveness and responsiveness in comparison with their age-matched peers. They did not differ significantly from the younger, vocabulary-matched group. Assertiveness and responsiveness mean ratings were positively correlated with vocabulary size for the age-matched group, but not for either of the other two groups. Conclusions: This study confirms a delay in the development of late talkers' social-conversational skills. An investigation of individual profiles suggests that some late talkers may require goals for vocabulary development as well as independent goals for developing pragmatic skills.