Development and validation of a screening procedure to identify speech-language delay in toddlers with cleft palate
Line Dahl Jørgensen1, Elisabeth Willadsen1
1a Department of Nordic Studies and Linguistics , University of Copenhagen , Copenhagen , Denmark.
Insights
A new speech-language screening procedure effectively identifies young children with cleft palate (CP) needing early intervention. This validated method uses consonant inventory and vocabulary assessments for accurate identification.
Area of Science:
- Speech-language pathology
- Pediatric audiology
- Craniofacial anomalies
Background:
- Early identification of speech-language needs in children with cleft palate ± cleft lip (CP) is crucial for effective intervention.
- Existing screening methods may not fully capture the complex speech-language profiles of young children with CP.
Purpose of the Study:
- To develop and validate a clinically useful speech-language screening procedure for young children with CP.
- To identify children with CP who would benefit from early speech-language intervention.
Main Methods:
- A screening procedure was developed using real-time listening assessment of consonant inventory and parent-reported expressive vocabulary.
- Twenty-two children with CP were assessed.
- The screening procedure's external validity was evaluated by comparing its assignments to experienced speech-language pathologists' clinical judgments.
Main Results:
- Real-time listening assessment demonstrated good-excellent inter-rater agreement for consonant inventory measures.
- There was near-perfect agreement between the screening procedure's intervention recommendations and experienced speech-language pathologists' clinical judgments.
Conclusions:
- The developed screening procedure is a valid and reliable tool for identifying young children with CP who require early speech-language intervention.
- This screening method supports timely access to necessary speech-language services for children with CP.
Abstract:
The purpose of this study was to develop and validate a clinically useful speech-language screening procedure for young children with cleft palate ± cleft lip (CP) to identify those in need of speech-language intervention. Twenty-two children with CP were assigned to a +/- need for intervention conditions based on assessment of consonant inventory using a real-time listening procedure in combination with parent-reported expressive vocabulary. These measures allowed evaluation of early speech-language skills found to correlate significantly with later speech-language performance in longitudinal studies of children with CP. The external validity of this screening procedure was evaluated by comparing the +/- need for intervention assignment determined by the screening procedure to experienced speech-language pathologist (SLP)s' clinical judgement of whether or not a child needed early intervention. The results of real-time listening assessment showed good-excellent inter-rater agreement on different consonant inventory measures. Furthermore, there was almost perfect agreement between the children selected for intervention with the screening procedure and the clinical judgement of experienced SLPs indicate that the screening procedure is a valid way of identifying children with CP who need early intervention.
