Affiliation:
1. Faculty of Special Education and Rehabilitation, Department of Special Education and Rehabilitation of Deaf and Hard of Hearing Persons University of Belgrade Belgrade Serbia
2. Faculty of Special Education and Rehabilitation, Department of Speech and Language Pathology University of Belgrade Belgrade Serbia
Abstract
AbstractObjectiveThe LittlEARS® Early Speech Production Questionnaire (LEESPQ) was developed to provide professionals with valuable information about children's earliest language development and has been successfully validated in several languages. This study aimed to validate the Serbian version of the LEESPQ in typically developing children and compare the results with validation studies in other languages.MethodsThe English version of the LEESPQ was back‐translated into Serbian. Parents completed the questionnaire in paper or electronic form either during the visit to the paediatric clinic or through personal contact. A total of 206 completed questionnaires were collected. Standardized expected values were calculated using a second‐order polynomial model for children up to 18 months of age to create a norm curve for the Serbian language. The results were then used to determine confidence intervals, with the lower limit being the critical limit for typical speech‐language development. Finally, the results were compared with German and Canadian English developmental norms.ResultsThe Serbian LEESPQ version showed high homogeneity (r = .622) and internal consistency (α = .882), indicating that it almost exclusively measures speech production ability. No significant difference in total score was found between male and female infants (U = 4429.500, p = .090), so it can be considered a gender‐independent questionnaire. The results of the comparison between Serbian and German (U = 645.500, p = .673) and Serbian and English norm curves (U = 652.000, p = .725) show that the LEESPQ can be applied to different population groups, regardless of linguistic, cultural or sociological differences.ConclusionThe LEESPQ is a valid, age‐dependent and gender‐independent questionnaire suitable for assessing early speech development in children aged from birth to 18 months.