Improving child compliance on a computer administered nonword repetition task
Kamila Polišenská1, Svetlana Kapalková
1University of Manchester, United Kingdom.
Insights
This study introduces a new recorded nonword repetition (NWR) task that significantly improves young children's compliance rates. This engaging method enhances research consistency and reduces bias in developmental studies.
Area of Science:
- Child development
- Speech-language pathology
- Psycholinguistics
Background:
- Nonword repetition (NWR) tasks are crucial for assessing speech and language development in children.
- Low compliance rates in young children often necessitate live presentation, which compromises stimulus consistency.
- Existing NWR methods can introduce research bias due to variability in live delivery.
Purpose of the Study:
- To evaluate a novel, recorded nonword repetition (NWR) task for improving compliance in young children.
- To assess the impact of recorded stimuli on reducing research bias in pediatric speech and language assessments.
- To determine the reliability and feasibility of a new NWR task for clinical and research applications.
Main Methods:
- Administered a novel NWR task with 26 recorded items to 391 typically developing children aged 2–6 years.
- Utilized an interactive story format where children repeated "magic" words to maintain engagement.
- Collected data on repetition accuracy, compliance rates, and demographic factors.
Main Results:
- High compliance rates were observed, with a noncompliance rate related to age.
- Repetition accuracy was significantly influenced by child's age, syllable length, and phonological complexity.
- No significant effect of demographic factors on compliance was found, aligning with prior research.
- High reliability was demonstrated for both test-retest and interrater scoring.
Conclusions:
- The novel recorded NWR task effectively engages young children, yielding high compliance rates.
- This method provides objective stimulus delivery, enhancing the reliability of NWR research.
- The task is cost-effective, requires minimal training, and is adaptable to different languages.
Abstract:
Purpose: A range of nonword repetition (NWR) tasks are used in research and clinical applications, but compliance rates among young children remain low. Live presentation is usually used to improve compliance rates, but this lacks the consistency of recorded stimuli. In this study, the authors examined whether a novel delivery of NWR stimuli based on recorded material could provide improved compliance rates in young children, thereby reducing research bias.Method: The novel NWR task with 26 recorded items was administered to 391 typically developing children ages 2–6 years. The children were presented with a story that they could influence by repeating “magic” words. Results: From the 384 children who completed the task, the authors found a noncompliance rate related to age. In line with previous research, no effect of demographic factors was found,but there was a significant main effect of age, syllable length,and phonological complexity on repetition accuracy. Test–retest and interrater scoring showed high levels of reliability.Conclusion: The task described in this study offers an objective delivery of recorded stimuli that engages young children and provides high compliance rates. The task is inexpensive, requires minimal training, and can be adapted to other languages.
