Assessing expressive communication in young children using the Early Communication Indicator-Portugal

Given the high prevalence of Portuguese children with communication disorders, valid instruments are needed for the early detection of these disorders. Therefore, the aim of this study is to determine the effectiveness of the Early Communication Indicator-Portugal (ECI-Portugal) in identifying the risk among Portuguese children of developing a communication disorder. The sample for the study comprised 480 children from across the country, aged 6-42 months, 40 of whom were identified as having communication disorders. The results found that children with communication disorders show significantly slower expressive communicative development compared to children with typical development, including longer use of vocalisations, and later emergence of words and sentences. These results demonstrate the utility of ECI-Portugal in identifying differences between children with and without communication disorders from an early age, and its potential importance as a tool for assessing and monitoring communication-related problems in Portuguese children from an early age.