| The Speech Sound Development Screener (SSDS) is a new tool to track speech sound development in infants/toddlers through caregiver reports. In this study, 143 families with infants aged between 6 to 18 months participated. The caregivers completed the SSDS, the Communication and Symbolic Behavior Scales—Developmental Profile (CSBS-DP), and a feasibility survey. The results showed an increasing pattern of sound types and tokens with increasing infant age, variation between typically developing infants and those at risk for speech/language delay/disorder, and consistency when compared with the CSBS-DP. The caregiver responses supported the feasibility of the SSDS, indicating it is easy to implement in a home setting without the need for a speech-language pathologist. The findings suggest that the SSDS may be a valid report of developmental status as typical or at-risk, which could have important positive impacts on researchers, clinicians, and clients. However, study limitations and future directions are also discussed. |