Diagnostic Evaluation of Language Variation™ — Screening Test (DELV™ - Screening Test)

Diagnostic Evaluation of Language Variation™ — Screening Test

Address over-identification of minorities in special education

The Diagnostic Evaluation of Language Variation™—Screening Test is an individually administered screening test to distinguish variations due to normal developmental language changes or to regional and cultural patterns of language difference from true markers of language disorder or delay.

A two-part assessment, both are appropriate for children whose speech varies from Mainstream American English (MAE), as well as speakers of MAE.

Part I
Language Variation Status distinguishes children who are speaking MAE from those who are using a variation and is appropriate for children 4-12 years of age.

Part II
Diagnostic Risk Status distinguishes children who are developing language normally from those who are at risk for a language disorder and is appropriate for children 4-9 years of age.

Customer Testimonial
“Sometimes I’m not sure if it’s African American English (AAE) or a speech disorder that I’m hearing. I’ve been asking others for years, ‘What do you use to test for this?’—And before DELV, nobody had an answer.”

Cynthia Pakula Speech/Language Pathologist Indianapolis, IN

DELV Screening Test Evaluates:

• Syntax
• Pragmatics
• Semantics
• Phonology

• Assists clinicians in distinguishing normal developmental language changes and patterns of variation from true markers of language disorder or delay.
• Useful in reducing over-inclusion of minority children in special education due to linguistic and cultural differences rather than actual speech and language disorders.
• Appropriate for children who are Mainstream American English (MAE) speakers and those who are speaking a variation from MAE, such as those who speak African American English (AAE).
• Yields two scores, one score for Part I Language Variation Status and one for Part II Diagnostic Risk Status.
• The DELV Screening Test has been funded in part with Federal funds from the National Institutes on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders, National Institutes of Health, under Contract No. N01-DC-8-2104 and Grant #R01 DC 02172-04.

Harry N. Seymour, Ph.D. is Professor Emeritus at the Department of Communication Disorders at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. Dr. Seymour has published over 40 articles of which many focus on describing and identifying language disorders among dialect speakers. Included in his numerous achievements are Fellow of ASHA and the Kellogg National Fellowship program and Distinguished Alumni Award, School of Communications, Howard University, for outstanding accomplishment in research in communication sciences and disorders.

Thomas W. Roeper, Ph.D. received his doctorate in Linguistics and Education from Harvard University. He has been Professor of Linguistics at the University of Massachusetts since 1973. He has worked with Dr. Seymour for over 15 years on research connecting linguistic theory, communication disorders and African American English.

Jill de Villiers, Ph.D. received her doctorate in Experimental Psychology from Harvard University. She is a Professor of Psychology and Philosophy at Smith College. Dr. de Villiers has authored and edited three books about language acquisition, as well as numerous journal articles.

with contributions by
Peter de Villiers, Ph.D. received his doctorate in Experimental Psychology from Harvard University. He is the Sophia and Austin Smith Professor of Psychology at Smith College. He has published widely in the area of language acquisition and literacy development in typically developing and deaf children.

To read more about the authors’ enthusiasm for the project, click on either of the following links:

Interview with the authors, 1999
Ciolli, Lois. “Getting to Know… Drs. Harry Seymour, Thomas Roeper, and Jill de Villiers.” Clinicians’ Forum vol. 9 #2 (Fall 1999): p. 5.

View a list of commonly asked questions regarding the Diagnostic Evaluation of Language Variation™ — Screening Test (DELV™ - Screening Test) products.

DELV Development History

The University of Massachusetts Working Groups on AAE was awarded a six-year multi-million dollar NIH contract in 1998 to develop a standardized language assessment tool that distinguished between variations of mainstream American English and actual speech or language disorders. Offering extensive experience in child language development from Communication Disorders, Linguistics, and Psychology, Drs Harry Seymour, Tom Roeper, Jill de Villiers, with contributions from Peter de Villiers, were the lead researchers on the project.

The UMass Working Groups on AAE collaborated with Pearson in the development and publication of DELV.

According to Dr. Harry Seymour, the relationship between Pearson and the UMass Research team, “brings together an exceptionally qualified group to develop a valid and reliable instrument to test speech and language disorders in African-American children.”

For more in-depth understanding of the development goals and to read more about the parties involved in the process, click on any of the following links:

NIH Contract NO1-DC8-2104
AAE UMass Newsletter
UMass 1998 Press Release
Pearson 2003 Press Release (PDF - 90kb)

DELV Product Support Materials

For additional information regarding the research, development, administration, and interpretation, click on any of the resources below…

DELV vs CELF-4 (PDF - 13kb)
E-papers
Posters and Presentations
References (PDF - 115kb)
UMASS AAE

ASHA Resources
To remain current with language assessment research and to understand the direction the profession is moving, take advantage of these convenient ASHA resources….

Students and Professionals Who Speak English With Accents and Nonstandard Dialects: Issues and Recommendations Technical Report

ASHA Joint Subcommittee of the Executive Board on English Language Proficiency

Difference or deficit in speakers of African American English: What every clinician should know…and do

Dr. Linda M. Bland-Stewart, in the May 3, 2005 issue of ASHA Leader

For more information on ASHA, click here to access its website.

Customer Testimonial about DELV
“ I’ve never found an assessment tool like DELV. This is the only commercially available instrument that looks at the non-contrastive shared language features of children.”

Sharon Gaskin
Diagnostician, Speech/Language Programs- Tampa, FL

DELV Brochure
ISBN: 999-8908-23X

DELV - Technical Report (PDF - 452 kb)
DELV - Criterion Referenced Case Study (PDF - 308 kb)
DELV - Norm Referenced Case Studies (PDF - 558 kb)
DELV - Screening Test Case Studies (PDF - 1443 kb)