Characterizing the Relationship Between the Intelligibility in Context Scale and Transcription Intelligibility in Typically Developing English-Speaking Children Between Ages 2;6 and 9;11.
Jennifer U Soriano, Tristan J Mahr, Paul J Rathouz and 1 others
PMID 40844921WHAT IT FOUND
Parent ratings of how well a child is understood do not match objective tests of speech clarity in typical children.
The two measures capture different things, so a parent's high rating should not be read as proof the child's speech is clearly understood by strangers.
Key findings
01The relationship between parent-rated Intelligibility in Context Scale scores and objective transcription intelligibility scores was weak across age bands for typically developing children.
02Objective transcription intelligibility scores showed a strong correlation with age, while parent-rated ICS scores showed only a moderate correlation with age.
03Even for the youngest children, parent ratings rarely fell below the middle of the scale, whereas objective scores could be below 50%.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for SLPs
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What it does not show
The study included only typically developing children, so results may not apply to children with speech disorders. Participants were from the Upper Midwest of the United States and were predominantly from highly educated, homogeneous backgrounds, limiting generalizability. The analysis excluded older children (8;0 and above) from detailed interpretation due to ceiling effects where both measures were high. The study used a cross-sectional design, comparing different children at different ages rather than tracking the same children over time.
Declared interests
The study was funded by the National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders. No other conflicts of interest were reported.
The easy way to misread this
Do not interpret a low correlation as meaning the ICS is an invalid tool. The measures are weakly related because they assess different constructs: the ICS captures intelligibility in context with familiar partners, while transcription measures capture signal clarity for unfamiliar listeners. Both are valid for their specific purposes.
Summarised by AI from the full paper, without a clinician reviewing it. Check it against the source before it changes what you do. Read it on PubMed →