| The purpose of this project was to develop a screening instrument for caregiver report of infant speech patterns from 7 to 18 months of age. The Human Subjects Committee at Idaho State University approved this study. Based on archived longitudinal data of caregiver report of infant speech sounds from 26 families, we identified commonly reported sounds/sound sequences and developed a screening instrument highlighting these sounds. The screener was revised in accordance with feedback from 6 experts and 7 caregivers. For collection of preliminary data, 50 packets were delivered to a pediatric clinic for distribution to families. Participants will also provide developmental milestone and demographic information and complete the MacArthur-Bates Communicative Development Inventory – Words and Gestures (CDI; Fenson et al., 2006). We will compare screener results to CDI (Fenson et al., 2006) results to validate the instrument, and to developmental milestone data to see how sound inventories align with developmental status. It is hypothesized that infants who perform more strongly on the CDI (Fenson et al., 2006) and classify as typically developing according to questionnaire responses will be reported to produce more variety in terms of the quantity and quality of their vocalizations. Here, we report on development of the screener. Clinical implications for such a screener could include earlier identification of children considered at-risk, more efficient methods of assessment for speech-language pathologists, and ease of use in clinical or home settings with or without professional administration. Study limitations and future directions will be discussed.
Key Words: screening instrument, infant vocalization, infant speech sound, caregiver report |