Evaluation of social skills and behavior problems of preschool children with developmentallanguage disorder and typically developing children

This study investigates whether there is a meaningful difference in behavioral problems and social skills between children with developmental language disorder and typical developing peers among preschool children. The sample of the study consisted of the children who were studying in the official primary schools of the Ministry of National Education and in the pre-school classes of the independent kindergartens, which are located in seven neighborhood of the Kadikoy district in the Istanbul city. 23 boys, 17 girls; A total of 40 children participated. The participants' ages ranged from 36 months to 72 months. Data of the study were collected through questionnaires filled by parents and the kindergarten teachers in schools. In this study, Sociodemographic Information Form, Communication, Lan- guage and Speech Development Appraisal Scale, Conners Parent Rating Scale and Conners Teacher Rating Scale, Social Skill Scale which is included in Preschool and Kindergarden Behaviour Scales and Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder Evaluation List were used as data collection tools. Whether there is a significant difference between the groups for the mentioned scales in total and each subscale of main scales, was analyzed by Mann-Whitney U test. The results showed that there is a significant difference between the groups in terms of behavior problems and social skills. According to findings, behavioral problems such as cognitive problems/ inattention, hyperactivity, social problems, restlessness and emotiona- lity are seen more frequently in children with developmental language disorder compared to typically developing group. In addition, children with developmental language disorder were found to have weaker skills in terms of social skills such as social independence and social interaction. The results of this study are discussed in the light of literature and suggestions are given for future studies that can be done in terms of research and application.