TY - JOUR
T1 - Validation of a parent report tool for monitoring early vocal stages in infants
AU - Moeller, Mary Pat
AU - Thomas, Anne E.
AU - Oleson, Jacob
AU - Ambrose, Sophie E.
N1 - Funding Information:
This research was supported by three grants from the National Institutes of Health: two from the National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders (R01 DC009560 awarded to coprincipal investigators J. Bruce Tomblin and Mary Pat Moeller and, R01 DC006681 awarded to principal investigator Mary Pat Moeller) and one from National Institute of General Medical Sciences (P20 GM109023 awarded to principal investigator Walt Jesteadt). The content of this project is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders or the National Institutes of Health. We appreciate the early contributions of Sandie Bass-Ringdahl in developing the experimental version of the Vocal Development Landmarks Interview. We thank Kim Oller, Carol-Stoel Gammon, and David Ertmer for their input during formative stages of the Vocal Development Landmarks Interview. We appreciate the support of Chris Marvin who mentored Anne Thomas as a doctoral student participating in our laboratory. Finally, we are grateful for the participation of the many parents who took the time to be interviewed.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2019 American Speech-Language-Hearing Association.
PY - 2019/7
Y1 - 2019/7
N2 - Purpose: Tracking of infants’ progression through early vocal stages supports the identification of children at risk for language delays and guides early intervention for children with disabilities. However, few clinical tools are available to support systematic assessment of infants’ early vocal development. This study sought to develop and conduct a preliminary evaluation of the validity of a parent report tool designed for this purpose, the Vocal Development Landmarks Interview (VDLI). Method: The participants were caregivers of 160 typically developing 6- to 21-month-old infants. Caregivers participated in the VDLI, which uses audio samples of authentic infant vocalizations to query parents regarding their children’s vocal behaviors. The VDLI yields 3 subscale scores (Precanonical, Canonical, and Word) and a total score. Caregivers also completed sections of the Communication and Symbolic Behavior Scales Developmental Profile Caregiver Questionnaire that yielded a speech composite score. Results: Cross-sectional analyses showed that the VDLI is sensitive to age and captures the expected developmental trajectories of vocal behaviors. A strong, positive correlation (r =.93) was found between VDLI total scores and the Communication and Symbolic Behavior Scales Developmental Profile speech composite score, indicating concurrent validity. Subscales were found to be internally consistent. Conclusion: Preliminary findings of sensitivity to age, concurrent validity, and internal consistency provide support for the eventual use of the VDLI as a clinical tool for tracking vocal and early verbal milestones. Future research will explore the level of concordance between parent report and researcher observations of child vocal behaviors.
AB - Purpose: Tracking of infants’ progression through early vocal stages supports the identification of children at risk for language delays and guides early intervention for children with disabilities. However, few clinical tools are available to support systematic assessment of infants’ early vocal development. This study sought to develop and conduct a preliminary evaluation of the validity of a parent report tool designed for this purpose, the Vocal Development Landmarks Interview (VDLI). Method: The participants were caregivers of 160 typically developing 6- to 21-month-old infants. Caregivers participated in the VDLI, which uses audio samples of authentic infant vocalizations to query parents regarding their children’s vocal behaviors. The VDLI yields 3 subscale scores (Precanonical, Canonical, and Word) and a total score. Caregivers also completed sections of the Communication and Symbolic Behavior Scales Developmental Profile Caregiver Questionnaire that yielded a speech composite score. Results: Cross-sectional analyses showed that the VDLI is sensitive to age and captures the expected developmental trajectories of vocal behaviors. A strong, positive correlation (r =.93) was found between VDLI total scores and the Communication and Symbolic Behavior Scales Developmental Profile speech composite score, indicating concurrent validity. Subscales were found to be internally consistent. Conclusion: Preliminary findings of sensitivity to age, concurrent validity, and internal consistency provide support for the eventual use of the VDLI as a clinical tool for tracking vocal and early verbal milestones. Future research will explore the level of concordance between parent report and researcher observations of child vocal behaviors.
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U2 - 10.1044/2019_JSLHR-S-18-0485
DO - 10.1044/2019_JSLHR-S-18-0485
M3 - Article
C2 - 31265353
AN - SCOPUS:85069949615
SN - 1092-4388
VL - 62
SP - 2245
EP - 2257
JO - Journal of Speech and Hearing Disorders
JF - Journal of Speech and Hearing Disorders
IS - 7
ER -