Development and Content Validation of Stuttering Screening Tool for Preschool Children

Early identification of stuttering is crucial to minimising its impact. Therefore, accessible screening tools for parents and preschool teachers are needed. However, there is a lack of such test materials for identifying stuttering in preschool children. Hence, the current study aimed to develop and validate a stuttering screening tool for parents and teachers of preschool children who stutter.

A thorough literature review and a focused group discussion led to the initial development of the tool in English. Six judges validated the content at the item level. As we aimed to develop a screening tool primarily for parents and preschool teachers in South India, the tool was translated into Kannada and Tamil (two major South Indian languages) using an opaque semantic translation method. Eleven judges participated in the second content validation process, which included item-level analysis and discussions. Quantitative and qualitative analyses were conducted based on judges' feedback. The final version underwent pilot testing with parents of children who do and do not stutter.

The first version showed adequate item-level validity, with an internal consistency of 0.78. The translated tool achieved excellent validity and universal agreement from 11 judges, with an internal consistency of 0.91. Qualitative analysis led to necessary modifications. Further, pilot testing confirmed good understandability and applicability by parents of children who do and do not stutter.

The stuttering screening tool demonstrated strong validity and consistency in Kannada and Tamil languages. It can serve as a reliable screening tool for early identification of stuttering by parents and teachers. In the next phase, we will assess its sensitivity and specificity.