Normative and validation data of an articulation test for Italian-speaking children

As a standardized instrument to assess speech sound development in Italian-speaking children is currently lacking, norms used to diagnose speech sound disorders (SSD) are mainly based on studies including English-speaking participants. This application may result in misidentification of SSD due to linguistic differences. The aims of the study were to establish normative data on speech sound development of Italian-speaking children and to evaluate psychometric properties of Rossi's articulation test, the picture-naming test selected to assess speech sound development.

A cross-sectional study including 694 normally-developing Italian-speaking children aged from 3 to 7 years was conducted. Children were administered Rossi's articulation test, and percentages of speech sound correct production were calculated. To evaluate inter-rater reliability of the test, audio-recordings of 50 children were scored by an additional examiner. The same rater scored the audio-recordings of 50 children twice with an interval of at least 1 week. To evaluate test-retest reliability, 144 participants were re-tested after 1-3 weeks by the same assessor. Scores were compared through Intraclass Correlation Coefficient (ICC). To assess construct validity, the developmental progression of total scores across age groups was verified by the estimation of the reference range for the test, using a regression procedure.

Almost all Italian children in the sample produced vowels and approximants correctly. Singleton consonants were acquired before consonant clusters. Ages of acquisition of each consonant were presented: plosives and nasals were early mastered by Italian children, while dental affricates, alveolar fricatives and the palatal lateral were the latest acquired segments. All ICCs were superior to 0.9 (reliability). A statistically significant improvement in test score with age was found (construct validity).

The paper provides normative data for speech sound development of Italian-speaking children; preliminary psychometric analysis of Rossi's articulation test revealed satisfactory reliability and construct validity. Clinicians are recommended to use Rossi's articulation test to assess speech sound development in Italian children.