A Communicative–Linguistic Analysis of Typically Developing Children Aged 12- to 37-Month-Old Using the Dynamic Communication Evaluation Coding Scheme: Data Presentation and Comparison Across Age Groups

Abstract

This study collected cross-sectional data on the social, communicative, pragmatic, and linguistic abilities of typically developing 12- to 37-month-old children. A preliminary literature review indicated that no observational tool with robust psychometric properties is currently available to assess communication and language in this age range. To address this gap, a coding scheme was employed on data from 91 typically developing Italian children (all with expressive vocabulary above the 10th percentile), who were divided into 3 groups (G1:12–17 months; G2:18–23 months; G3:24–37 months). Videotaped parent–child play interactions were analyzed to assess communicative frequency, gaze-related communicative prerequisites, communicative roles, communicative functions, and language complexity. Significant group differences and correlations with age and vocabulary were identified, including a reduction in assertiveness and requesting functions and an increase in responsiveness and declarative functions. The developmental progression of linguistic complexity is consistent with the previous literature, supporting the validity of the study and offering implications for both clinical practice and research.