A Delphi survey-based development and validation of cognitive-communication assessment tool for Indian preschoolers.
Aparna Prasanna, Gagan Bajaj, Malavika Anakkathil Anil and 1 others
PMID 37909524WHAT IT FOUND
A new story-based assessment tool for Indian preschoolers was validated by experts and tested on twenty children.
All children completed the one-hour assessment without fatigue, and older children scored significantly higher, showing the tool can track developmental changes.
Key findings
01The tool was developed using a Delphi method with six experts and validated for content, resulting in a story-based assessment of memory and executive function.
02In a pilot test with twenty preschoolers, all participants completed the one-hour assessment, and older children scored significantly higher on all tasks.
03The final tool consists of a 236-word story with six pictures and tasks assessing free recall, recognition, literary recall, reasoning, and inhibition/switching.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for SLPs
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What it does not show
The pilot study included only twenty children, which is a very small sample size. The tool has not yet been validated for diagnostic accuracy or test-retest reliability; psychometric properties are still in progress. The expert panel consisted of only six people, which may limit the breadth of content validation. The study was conducted in English-medium schools in one district of India, so results may not generalize to other regions or languages.
Declared interests
The study was funded by the Educational Research and Innovations Committee (ERIC) grant under the National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT).
The easy way to misread this
Do not assume this tool is ready for clinical diagnosis. The pilot only showed that children could complete the tasks and that scores increased with age; it did not test whether the tool can accurately identify children with communication disorders.