AIM: This study established predictive properties of single language milestones for @entity10870 ( @entity10870 ) after the age of four, as these had not previously been reported in the literature. METHODS: In this nested case-control study, @entity1 attending special needs schools for severe speech and language difficulties were matched with @entity1 attending mainstream schools. Data covering the ages of zero to four years were retrieved from well- @entity1 care clinics and the outcomes of 23 language milestones in the Dutch Developmental Instrument were analysed. The predictive properties were expressed as positive likelihood ratios, sensitivity and specificity. RESULTS: We included 253 pairs of @entity1 with and without @entity10870 , aged from four to 11 years. The mean age was eight years and three months, and 77% were @entity1 . From the age of 18 months, cases and controls differed significantly on all milestones (p < 0.01). After 24 months, the language milestones had positive likelihood ratios that ranging from 6 to 108. In general, language milestones had a high specificity (range 77-100%), but the sensitivity was relatively low (range 0-68%). CONCLUSION: Failure to meet language milestones from the age of 24 months was predictive of @entity10870 , but the use of separate milestones had limited value due to low sensitivity.

Failure to meet language milestones at two years of age is predictive of XXXX .

@entity1 :: ('9606', 'Species') :: ['children', 'boys', 'child'] @entity10870 :: ('OMIM:606712', 'Disease') :: ['specific language impairment', 'SLI']
@entity10870 :: (OMIM:606712,Disease) :: ['specific language impairment']
