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Matiasovitsová K, Čechová P, Sláma J, Homolková K, Smolík F. Mean Length of Utterance in Czech Toddlers: Validity Estimates and Comparison of Words, Morphemes, and Syllables. JOURNAL OF SPEECH, LANGUAGE, AND HEARING RESEARCH : JSLHR 2024; 67:837-852. [PMID: 38416073 DOI: 10.1044/2023_jslhr-23-00251] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/29/2024]
Abstract
PURPOSE We examined the properties of mean length of utterance (MLU) in Czech, a morphologically complex Slavic language. We compared the scores of MLU calculated in different units and based on different sample lengths and assessed its validity against another transcript and test-based measures. METHOD One hundred nine children were recorded during free-play at 2;6 and 3;11 (years;months). We compared MLU in syllables, morphemes, and words (MLUw) in transcripts of different lengths (50, 75, 100, and all available utterances). For evaluating the validity of MLU, we also calculated Index of Productive Syntax (IPSyn) and number of different words (NDW) and used results of receptive vocabulary and grammar comprehension tests. RESULTS The different MLU measures based on different sample lengths correlated closely with MLU in transcripts of all utterances (all rs > .87). We found mostly strong correlations between MLU, IPSyn, and NDW at both time points and weak or moderate correlations between MLU and grammar and vocabulary. Regression models showed the significant unique effect of MLUw at 2;6 for MLUw (β = .29) and grammar (β = .33) at 3;11 and vocabulary (β = .27) at 3;7. CONCLUSION MLUw based on all utterances was confirmed as a valid measure of early language skills in Czech, as it is stable in time and shows concurrent and predictive relations with other transcript-based and test-based measures. SUPPLEMENTAL MATERIAL https://doi.org/10.23641/asha.25215203.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Petra Čechová
- Faculty of Arts, Charles University, Prague, Czech Republic
| | - Jakub Sláma
- Faculty of Arts, Charles University, Prague, Czech Republic
| | | | - Filip Smolík
- Faculty of Arts, Charles University, Prague, Czech Republic
- Institute of Psychology, Czech Academy of Sciences, Prague, Czech Republic
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Maviş İ, Yaşar-Gündüz E. Evaluating the Personal Narrative Skills of Monolingual Turkish-Speaking 7- and 10-Year-Old Children with Typical Development through Global TALES: A Pilot Study. Folia Phoniatr Logop 2023; 75:382-392. [PMID: 37531936 DOI: 10.1159/000533292] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/01/2023] [Accepted: 07/25/2023] [Indexed: 08/04/2023] Open
Abstract
INTRODUCTION Studies on personal narratives are rare in Turkey and there is no standard protocol for eliciting them. The aim of this small-scale study was to translate the Global TALES Protocol into Turkish, with cultural adaptations, and to present the results regarding its usability for two different age-groups of 7- and 10-year-old school children. We investigated narrative skills in terms of verbal productivity (number of utterances, total number of words), syntactic complexity (mean length of utterance), and semantic diversity (number of different words). In addition, group comparisons were made in terms of the participants' gender and age. METHODS A total of 20 children, 10 from each age-group (7;0-7;11 and 10;0-10;11) participated in the study. All children were monolingual Turkish-speaking children with typical development. Participants were recruited through personal and/or social networks. All personal narratives were gathered via online connections (Zoom). RESULTS Descriptive statistics were used to describe the children's performance, and the analysis of group differences was made separately according to age and gender. All children produced narratives in response to the six protocol prompts. In addition, the number of children who did not require the scripted follow-up prompts was higher than those needing a scripted follow-up prompt to produce a response. No statistically significant group differences were found in terms of gender and age on any of the measurements. CONCLUSION The results from this small-scale investigation showed that the translated version of the Global TALES Protocol was effective in eliciting personal narratives from Turkish-speaking children. We concluded that there is no need to change the directions or give additional guidance or prompts to the children. Future studies with larger samples are needed to confirm these findings.
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Affiliation(s)
- İlknur Maviş
- Department of Speech and Language Therapy, Faculty of Health Sciences, Anadolu University, Eskişehir, Turkey
| | - Esra Yaşar-Gündüz
- Department of Speech and Language Therapy, Faculty of Health Sciences, Erciyes University, Kayseri, Turkey
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Abbeduto L, Del Hoyo Soriano L, Berry-Kravis E, Sterling A, Edgin JO, Abdelnur N, Drayton A, Hoffmann A, Hamilton D, Harvey DJ, Thurman AJ. Expressive language sampling and outcome measures for treatment trials in fragile X and down syndromes: composite scores and psychometric properties. Sci Rep 2023; 13:9267. [PMID: 37286643 PMCID: PMC10247708 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-023-36087-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/14/2022] [Accepted: 05/29/2023] [Indexed: 06/09/2023] Open
Abstract
The lack of psychometrically sound outcome measures has been a barrier to evaluating the efficacy of treatments proposed for core symptoms of intellectual disability (ID). Research on Expressive Language Sampling (ELS) procedures suggest it is a promising approach to measuring treatment efficacy. ELS entails collecting samples of a participant's talk in interactions with an examiner that are naturalistic but sufficiently structured to ensure consistency and limit examiner effects on the language produced. In this study, we extended previous research on ELS by analyzing an existing dataset to determine whether psychometrically adequate composite scores reflecting multiple dimensions of language can be derived from ELS procedures administered to 6- to 23-year-olds with fragile X syndrome (n = 80) or Down syndrome (n = 78). Data came from ELS conversation and narration procedures administered twice in a 4-week test-retest interval. We found that several composites emerged from variables indexing syntax, vocabulary, planning processes, speech articulation, and talkativeness, although there were some differences in the composites for the two syndromes. Evidence of strong test-retest reliability and construct validity of two of three composites were obtained for each syndrome. Situations in which the composite scores would be useful in evaluating treatment efficacy are outlined.
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Affiliation(s)
- Leonard Abbeduto
- MIND Institute and Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, University of California Davis Health, 2828 50Th St., Sacramento, CA, 95817, USA.
| | - Laura Del Hoyo Soriano
- MIND Institute and Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, University of California Davis Health, 2828 50Th St., Sacramento, CA, 95817, USA
| | | | - Audra Sterling
- Waisman Center and Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, USA
| | - Jamie O Edgin
- Department of Psychology, Sonoran UCEDD, UA Family and Community Medicine, University of Arizona, Phoenix, AZ, USA
| | - Nadia Abdelnur
- MIND Institute and Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, University of California Davis Health, 2828 50Th St., Sacramento, CA, 95817, USA
| | - Andrea Drayton
- MIND Institute and Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, University of California Davis Health, 2828 50Th St., Sacramento, CA, 95817, USA
| | - Anne Hoffmann
- Department of Communication Disorders and Sciences, Rush University, Chicago, IL, USA
- Department of Pediatrics, Rush University, Chicago, IL, USA
| | - Debra Hamilton
- Department of Human Genetics, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, GA, USA
| | - Danielle J Harvey
- Department of Public Health Sciences, University of California, Davis, USA
| | - Angela John Thurman
- MIND Institute and Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, University of California Davis Health, 2828 50Th St., Sacramento, CA, 95817, USA
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