Related Experiment Videos
Interobserver reliability using the Phonetic Level Evaluation with severely and profoundly hearing-impaired children
1School of Communicative Disorders, Cumberland College of Health Sciences, Sydney, Australia.
Journal of Speech and Hearing Research
|October 1, 1991
Summary
This study found low reliability in scoring speech production in hearing-impaired children using the Phonetic Level Evaluation. The assessment may not be accurate or objective for this population.
Area of Science:
- Speech-language pathology
- Pediatric audiology
- Childhood communication disorders
Background:
- Accurate speech assessment is crucial for hearing-impaired children.
- Existing speech evaluation tools require rigorous reliability testing.
- The Phonetic Level Evaluation is used for assessing speech production.
Purpose of the Study:
- To determine the interrater reliability of the Phonetic Level Evaluation for assessing speech production in hearing-impaired children.
- To evaluate the accuracy and objectivity of this speech assessment measure.
Main Methods:
- Experienced speech-language pathologists scored elicited imitations.
- Subjects included 5 profoundly and 5 severely hearing-impaired children.
- Interrater reliability was calculated using intraclass correlation coefficients.
Main Results:
- Intraclass correlation coefficients were considerably below accepted levels for behavioral research.
- Low reliability indicates significant disagreement between raters.
- The Phonetic Level Evaluation demonstrated poor consistency in scoring.
Conclusions:
- The Phonetic Level Evaluation may not be a reliable or objective measure for assessing speech production in hearing-impaired children.
- Further research is needed to refine or validate speech assessment tools for this population.
- Current findings question the clinical utility of the Phonetic Level Evaluation.