Title: Validity of parent ratings of speech intelligibility for children with cerebral palsy
Legend: Transcription intelligibility scores from listeners by parent rating for children in each severity group. Lines represent regression estimates for expected rating and ribbons represent 95% bootstrap interval. In the ordinal parent rating scale, lower numbers indicate higher understandability and higher numbers indicate lower understandability ratings. For all three groups, the effect of transcription intelligibility on parent ratings of intelligibility went in the expected direction: increases in transcription intelligibility predicted lower parent ratings (higher understandability ratings). The effect, however, was only statistically significant for the mild-moderate intelligibility reduction group.
Citation: Sakash, A., Mahr, T., & Hustad, K. C. (2021). Validity of parent ratings of speech intelligibility for children with cerebral palsy. Developmental Neurorehabilitation, 24(2), 98-106.
Abstract: Aim: To examine the relationship between subjective parent ratings of intelligibility and objectively measured intelligibility scores for children with cerebral palsy (CP) with differing levels of speech severity. Method: Fifty children (84-96 months) with CP were classified into groups based on intelligibility scores during a speech elicitation task – high intelligibility (90% or higher), mild-moderate intelligibility reduction (61-89%), and severe intelligibility reduction (60% or lower). Parent ratings of understandability (on a 7-point scale) were compared to intelligibility scores gathered from 100 naïve listeners. Results: For children with mild-moderate and severe intelligibility reduction, there was a large range of variability in parent ratings. For children with high intelligibility, ratings were consistent with intelligibility scores. There was a range of intelligibility scores within each rating, especially in the middle of the scale. Conclusions: For children with mild-moderate intelligibility deficits, parent ratings may best be used in conjunction with objective measurement of intelligibility.
About the Lab: Katherine Hustad is Professor and Chair of Communication Sciences and Disorders. Her research examines speech and language development in children with cerebral palsy, with a focus on improving treatment decision-making, clinical outcomes, and quality of life. Visit the Wisconsin Intelligibility, Speech, and Communication (WISC) Lab for more information. https://kidspeech.wisc.edu/