Development, Validation, and Reliability of a Teacher-Reported Speech and Language Disorders Scale

This study addresses the critical need for early identification of speech and language disorders in Turkish primary school children by developing a novel teacher-reported screening tool and investigates its psychometric properties.

A new scale called Teacher-Reported Speech and Language Disorders Scale (TSLDS) was developed based on literature review and expert consultation. After the item generation process, the content validity of the items was assessed by a panel of experts. Next, the preliminary scale was administrated to a sample, evaluated, and revised. The final version of the scale was administered to 84 teachers of 980 children across 19 public schools. Construct validity, known-groups validity, test-retest reliability, internal consistency, and interrater reliability of the scale were examined.

Exploratory factor analysis and confirmatory factor analysis revealed a unidimensional structure with high factor loadings. The scale demonstrated strong internal consistency (α = .94), test-retest reliability (r = .97), interrater reliability (Krippendorff α = .98), weighted kappa (κ_w = .95), and intraclass correlation (R = .94). Significant group differences between children with and without speech-language disorders were observed (η² = .77). Receiving operating characteristic analysis indicated excellent classification performance (area under the receiver operating characteristic curve = .99) and established a cutoff score of 5, with high sensitivity (91.7%) and specificity (90.9%).

The TSLDS possesses high reliability and validity and effectively differentiates between typically developing children and children with speech-language disorders. This study offers a practical solution for early screening in schools, crucial for timely evaluation and referral to treatment.