Article

The aim of this study was to establish the construct validity of the Focus
on the Outcomes of Communication Under Six (FOCUS((c)) ),a tool designed to
measure changes in communication skills in preschool children. METHOD:
Participating families' children (n=97; 68 males, 29 females; mean age 2y 8mo; SD
1.04y, range 10mo-4y 11mo) were recruited through eight Canadian organizations.
The children were on a waiting list for speech and language intervention. Parents
completed the Ages and Stages Questionnaire - Social/Emotional (ASQ-SE) and the
FOCUS three times: at assessment and at the start and end of treatment. A second
sample (n=28; 16 males 12 females) was recruited from another organization to
correlate the FOCUS scores with speech, intelligibility and language measures.
Second sample participants ranged in age from 3 years 1 month to 4 years 9 months
(mean 3y 11mo; SD 0.41y). At the start and end of treatment, children were
videotaped to obtain speech and language samples. Parents and speech-language
pathologists (SLPs) independently completed the FOCUS tool. SLPs who were blind
to the pre/post order of the videotapes analysed the samples. RESULTS: The FOCUS
measured significantly more change (p<0.01) during treatment than during the
waiting list period. It demonstrated both convergent and discriminant validity
against the ASQ-SE. The FOCUS change corresponded to change measured by a
combination of clinical speech and language measures (kappa=0.31, p<0.05).
CONCLUSION: The FOCUS shows strong construct validity as a change-detecting
instrument.
CI - (c) The Authors. Developmental Medicine & Child Neurology (c) 2013 Mac Keith Press.
- Enfant

Langue : ANGLAIS