中文版《小龄儿童听觉发展问卷》的有效性研究

目的 考察中文版<小龄儿童听觉发展问卷>的有效性.方法 对168名2岁以内健听儿童的家长进行中文版问卷调查,利用调查所得数据检验中文版问卷的信度、效度等各项有效性指标.结果 中文版<小龄儿童听觉发展问卷>的各项有效性指标均达到要求;回归分析曲线表明,中文版问卷得到的数据曲线和德语原版问卷一致性非常高.结论 中文版<小龄儿童听觉发展问卷>的有效性符合要求.可以推广使用.     

Development of a parent questionnaire for assessment of auditory behaviour of infants up to two years of age

BACKGROUND: There is an increasing need for an instrument, which allows to quickly and reliably assess the auditory behaviour of infants and toddlers. SCIENTIFIC QUESTION AND OBJECTIVE: The objective of this study was to develop and validate the "LittlEARS Hearing Questionnaire", a tool for assessing auditory behaviour in children up to 24 months of age. METHODS: Questionnaire construction followed the principles of classical test theory. The psychometric properties of 45 questions on infant auditory behaviour were examined in a sample of 218 parents of normal hearing infants up to age 24 months. Parental responses also served for computing normative values of the development of early auditory behaviour by regression analysis. RESULTS: The final questionnaire contains 35 items, to be answered with either "yes" or "no". The sum of "yes"-answers yields an overall score, which can be compared to age-related normative values in order to appraise the age-appropriateness of the infant's auditory behaviour. The following scale characteristics have been found with the above sample: internal consistency: Cronbach's Alpha = 0.96; reliability: split-half r = 0.88; predictive accuracy: Guttman's Lambda = 0.96; correlation between overall score and age of the children: r = 0.91. CONCLUSION: The "LittlEARS Hearing Questionnaire" is suitable for the quick assessment of a little child's hearing behaviour, e. g. at physical examinations, at the postnatal hearing screening, or when evaluating rehabilitative measures.     

External validation of the LittlEARS® Auditory Questionnaire with English-speaking families of Canadian children with normal hearing

Objective

To examine the external validity of the United Kingdom English version of the LittlEARS^® Auditory Questionnaire with English-speaking families of Canadian children with normal hearing.

Methods

The United Kingdom English version of the LittlEARS was administered to English-speaking families of 130 children with normal hearing in Ontario, Canada. Total scores for these children were compared to German-derived normative values.

Results

There was no significant difference between Canadian and German norms when using the United Kingdom English version of the LittlEARS Auditory Questionnaire.

Conclusions

The United Kingdom English version of the LittlEARS Auditory Questionnaire is appropriate for use with English-speaking families of normal hearing Canadian children.     

Production and evaluation of a Spanish version of the LittlEARS® Auditory Questionnaire for the assessment of auditory development in children

Background and aimsTo adapt the LittlEARS^® Auditory Questionnaire (LEAQ) into Spanish and evaluate the psychometric properties of the Spanish version of the questionnaire.MethodsThe LEAQ was translated into Spanish by a back-translation design. Following the Guidelines for Adapting Tests of the International Test Commission (ITC), for the first time with the LEAQ adaptations, two qualitative methods were used to evaluate the translated version of the LEAQ: an expert appraisal method followed by cognitive interviewing. Having improved the Spanish version of the LEAQ with these evaluations, a psychometric analysis was conducted. 215 parents of children with normal hearing aged between 1.7 and 24.0 months participated in the study. Corrected item-total correlations were calculated to analyze to what extent items distinguish levels of auditory development of assessed children. Cronbach's alpha coefficient – to evaluate internal consistency across items – was also calculated. To obtain validity evidence, correlations between item-total score and age were calculated. A non-linear regression model was also estimated to obtain normative data for expected and minimum value of total scores from the questionnaire according to age.ResultsExpert appraisal and cognitive interviewing pointed out some translation errors and difficulties parents had while responding to the Spanish LEAQ. Such errors and difficulties were fixed in the Spanish LEAQ version applied for psychometric analysis. Corrected item-total correlations ranged from 0.15 to 0.75. Cronbach's alpha coefficient value was 0.92, indicating that the measurements are highly reliable. The value of the correlation between total scores and age was 0.86 (p < 001). The regression analysis conducted to obtain normative data shows that 79% of the variation in the total scores can be explained by age.ConclusionsThe results of psychometric analyses provide evidence supporting the use of the Spanish version of the LEAQ as a valid and culturally appropriate tool to assess the development of auditory behaviour in Spanish children who are 24 months old or younger.     

Quality of questionnaires for the assessment of otitis media with effusion in children

Objectives

Audiometric tests provide information about hearing in otitis media with effusion (OME). Questionnaires can supplement this information by supporting clinical history‐taking as well as potentially providing a standardized and comprehensive assessment of the impact of the disease on a child. There are many possible candidate questionnaires. This study aimed to assess the quality and usability of parent / child questionnaires in OME assessment.

Design and main outcome measures

Fifteen, published questionnaires, commonly used in audiological departments (Auditory Behaviour in Everyday Life (ABEL), Children's Auditory Performance Scale (CHAPS), Children's Home Inventory for Listening Difficulties (CHILD), Children's Outcome Worksheets (COW), Evaluation of Children's Listening and Processing Skills (ECLiPS), Early Listening Function (ELF), Fisher's Auditory Problem Checklist (FAPC), Hearing Loss 7 (HL‐7), Listening Inventory for Education‐ Revised (LIFE‐R Student), Listening Inventory for Education UK Individual Hearing Profile (LIFE‐UK IHP), LittlEARS Auditory Questionnaire (LittlEARS), Listening Situations Questionnaire (LSQ), Otitis Media 6 (OM‐6), Quality of Life in Children's Ear Problems (OMQ‐14), Parents’ Evaluation of Aural/Oral Performance of Children (PEACH) were assessed according to the following 8 criteria: conceptual clarity, respondent burden, reliability, validity, normative data, item bias, ceiling/ floor effects, and administrative burden.

Results

ECLiPS, LittlEARS and PEACH scored highest overall based on the assessment criteria established for this study. None of the questionnaires fully satisfied all 8 criteria. Although all questionnaires assessed issues considered to be of at least adequate relevance to OME, the majority had weaknesses with respect to the assessment of psychometric properties, such as item bias, floor/ceiling effects or measurement reliability and validity. Publications reporting on the evaluation of reliability, validity, normative data, item bias and ceiling/floor effects were not available for most of the questionnaires.

Conclusions

This formal evaluation of questionnaires, currently available to clinicians, highlights three questionnaires as potentially offering a useful adjunct in the assessment of OME in clinical or research settings. These were the ECLiPS, which is suitable for children aged 6 years and older, and either the LittlEARS or the PEACH for younger children. The latter two are narrowly focused on hearing, whereas ECLiPS has a broader focus on listening, language and social difficulties.     

Assessment of early auditory development of very young Finnish children with LittlEARS® Auditory Questionnaire and McArthur Communicative Developmental Inventories

ObjectivesWe analysed the Finnish version of the LittlEARS^® Auditory Questionnaire as a method for assessing very young children's early auditory, pre-verbal and emerging verbal development. We also examined whether any background factors exist that influence the results and thus the usability of this method. To determine its potential in assessment, the Finnish version of the LittlEARS^® Auditory Questionnaire was analysed in relation to the Finnish McArthur Communicative Developmental Inventories. The latter is currently the method most commonly used together with parental interviews. However, this method is neither designed for infants younger than 8 months nor is its main emphasis on auditory development. Thus, we investigated whether the Finnish version of LittlEARS^® Auditory Questionnaire could supplement the Finnish McArthur Communicative Developmental Inventories and thereby help in detecting children with hearing impairments.MethodsNormative data were collected for Finnish children with normal hearing (N = 318) using the LittlEARS^® Auditory Questionnaire and an abridged version of the Finnish McArthur Communicative Developmental Inventories. In addition, background information was collected with a questionnaire designed for this study. The results of these questionnaires were analysed in relation to each other.ResultsStatistical analysis showed that the results gained with the Finnish version of LittlEARS^® Auditory Questionnaire and the abridged version of the Finnish McArthur Communicative Developmental Inventories are closely related. However, the LittlEARS^® Auditory Questionnaire manages to capture the earlier and subtler changes that occur in infancy, therefore making a good continuum with McArthur Communicative Developmental Inventories. Also, most background factors, such as parents’ educational level, did not affect the results significantly, rendering the LittlEARS^® Auditory Questionnaire a valuable method for assessment of early auditory development in very young children.ConclusionsThe Finnish version of the LittlEARS^® Auditory Questionnaire is a reliable assessment tool with no confounding background factors. It enables evaluation of the early auditory development in even the youngest of children.     

The Hebrew and the Arabic version of the LittlEARS® auditory questionnaire for the assessment of auditory development: results in normal hearing children and children with cochlear implants

Objective

With more children receiving cochlear implants at an early age, there is a need for evaluation and assessment of early auditory behavior. We present the translation of the LittlEARS^® Auditory Questionnaire into Hebrew and into Arabic. First the validation of the LittlEARS^® Auditory Questionnaire in normal hearing children was evaluated. Second, the auditory behavior and the progress in hearing skills of a group of children with cochlear implants were assessed.

Methods

A “back-translation” method was used to translate and adapt the LittlEARS^® Auditory Questionnaire into Hebrew and into Arabic. Normal hearing participants included 70 Hebrew speaking and 97 Arabic speaking parents of children from 1 to 24 months of age with normal hearing. An additional group of 42 parents of children with cochlear implants with a hearing age of up to 24 months completed the LittlEARS^® Auditory Questionnaire. 27 of them completed the questionnaire more than once at intervals, so that change and development could be recorded. Scores on the LittlEARS^® Auditory Questionnaire were compared to results of SIR and CAP scales and other available auditory data.

Results

The results of the first study show that the curves found for the Hebrew and the Arabic translations of the LittlEARS^® Auditory Questionnaire are essentially similar to those previously found for other languages. These curves reflect the age dependency of auditory skills. Furthermore, in the group with cochlear implants the developmental pattern was different than that of the normal hearing group, with an initial steep increase and a later slower improvement. This trend appeared both in curves of groups and in curves of individuals (individuals whose parents completed the questionnaire at several points in time). There was a high correlation between scores on the LittlEARS^® Auditory Questionnaire and results of other audiologic tests, showing validity of results with the LittlEARS^® Auditory Questionnaire.

Conclusion

Both the Hebrew and Arabic versions of the LittlEARS^® Auditory Questionnaire were found to be reliable and valid tools for assessment of the development of auditory behavior in children up to the age of 24 months. Furthermore, the LittlEARS^® Auditory Questionnaire in both languages is useful in monitoring the progress of children with cochlear implant.     

Sensitivity of ABR based newborn screening with the MB11 BERAphone

Objectives

The aim of this study is to evaluate the sensitivity of our hearing screening program. The evaluation was done using a questionnaire for parents of children who participated in the NHS for a targeted time frame of two years. A survey was accomplished to identify children who passed our screening protocol in the newborn period, but who were later identified to have hearing loss.

Methods

For the survey a one-year cohort was established in 2008 which included 500 children who received a hearing screening at our Center with the ABR newborn screener, MB11 BERAphone^®, two years before. Two hearing questionnaires were chosen for the survey. The LittlEARS questionnaire (MED-EL Medical Electronics GmbH) for investigating the hearing behavior of the children during the first two years of life and a second, custom-developed questionnaire (Würzburger questionnaire) investigating some aspects which are not included in the LittlEARS tool, such as speech/language development, general development as well as pathological factors that might eventually lead to a temporary hearing loss.

Results

Analysis of the Würzburger questionnaires revealed normal speech development for 92.9% of the children. For 4.7% male and 2.4% female children delayed speech development was reported. Although twice as many males were found, the statistical comparison showed no significant difference according to gender. The results of the LittlEARS questionnaire are identical to those of the Würzburger questionnaire in 98.3% of the investigated cases and in 1.7% of the cases slightly different results but on borderline: The LittlEAR scores showed normal auditory development for the childrens’ age but the Würzburger questionnaire results showed delayed speech development.

Conclusions

Based on the follow-up analysis and the results from the two questionnaires, no permanent hearing loss was found in any child two years after they passed the newborn hearing screening. Thus, we conclude that the sensitivity of the screening test was 100%, based on survey results 2 years post screening.     

Production and evaluation of a Polish version of the LittlEars questionnaire for the assessment of auditory development in infants

Objective

To adapt the LittlEars questionnaire into Polish and to evaluate the psychometric properties of the Polish version of the questionnaire.

Methods

A back-translation method was used to translate the LittlEars questionnaire into Polish. The translated version was first evaluated by means of an expert-appraisal method. After having improved the Polish version of LittlEars with the results obtained from that evaluation, various psychometric analyses were conducted. Study participants included 310 parents or other caregivers of children with normal hearing whose ages ranged between 0.5 and 24.0 months. Corrected item-total correlations were calculated to evaluate the extent to which the different questions distinguish levels of auditory development of the assessed children. Cronbach's alpha coefficient—to evaluate internal consistency across items—was also calculated. To obtain estimates of validity, correlations between item/total score and age were calculated. A non-linear regression model was derived to obtain normative data for expected and minimum values of total scores from the questionnaire according to age.

Results

Corrected item-total correlations ranged from 0.14 to 0.84. The Cronbach's alpha coefficient was 0.95, indicating that the measurements were highly reliable. The linear correlation between total scores and age was 0.90 (p < .001). The regression analysis conducted to obtain normative data showed that 83% of the variance in the total scores can be explained by age.

Conclusion

The results of psychometric analyses support the use of the Polish version of the LittlEars questionnaire as a sensitive and reliable tool to assess the development of auditory behavior in Polish children between 3 and 24 months of age.     

Validation of the LittlEARS Auditory Questionnaire in children with normal hearing

Objectives

With more children receiving cochlear implants during infancy, there is a need for validated assessments of pre-verbal and early verbal auditory skills. The LittlEARS^® Auditory Questionnaire is presented here as the first module of the LittlEARS^® test battery. The LittlEARS^® Auditory Questionnaire was developed and piloted to assess the auditory behaviour of normal hearing children and hearing impaired children who receive a cochlear implant or hearing aid prior to 24 months of age. This paper presents results from two studies: one validating the LittlEARS^® Auditory Questionnaire on children with normal hearing who are German speaking and a second validating the norm curves found after adaptation and administration of the questionnaire to children with normal hearing in 15 different languages.

Methods

Scores from a group of 218 German and Austrian children with normal hearing between 5 days and 24 months of age were used to create a norm curve. The questionnaire was adapted from the German original into English and then 15 other languages to date. Regression curves were found based on parental responses from 3309 normal hearing infants and toddlers. Curves for each language were compared to the original German validation curve.

Results

The results of the first study were a norm curve which reflects the age-dependence of auditory behaviour, reliability and homogeneity as a measure of auditory behaviour, and calculations of expected and critical values as a function of age. Results of the second study show that the regression curves found for all the adapted languages are essentially equal to the German norm curve, as no statistically significant differences were found.

Conclusions

The LittlEARS^® Auditory Questionnaire is a valid, language-independent tool for assessing the early auditory behaviour of infants and toddlers with normal hearing. The results of this study suggest that the LittlEARS^® Auditory Questionnaire could also be very useful for documenting children's progress with their current amplification, providing evidence of the need for implantation, or highlighting the need for follow-up in other developmental areas.     

An integrated knowledge translation experience: use of the Network of Pediatric Audiologists of Canada to facilitate the development of the University of Western Ontario Pediatric Audiological Monitoring Protocol (UWO PedAMP v1.0)

Pediatric audiologists lack evidence-based, age-appropriate outcome evaluation tools with well-developed normative data that could be used to evaluate the auditory development and performance of children aged birth to 6 years with permanent childhood hearing impairment. Bagatto and colleagues recommend a battery of outcome tools that may be used with this population. This article provides results of an evaluation of the individual components of the University of Western Ontario Pediatric Audiological Monitoring Protocol (UWO PedAMP) version 1.0 by the audiologists associated with the Network of Pediatric Audiologists of Canada. It also provides information regarding barriers and facilitators to implementing outcome measures in clinical practice. Results indicate that when compared to the Parents' Evaluation of Aural/Oral Performance of Children (PEACH) Diary, audiologists found the PEACH Rating Scale to be a more clinically feasible evaluation tool to implement in practice from a time, task, and consistency of use perspective. Results also indicate that the LittlEARS(?) Auditory Questionnaire could be used to evaluate the auditory development and performance of children aged birth to 6 years with permanent childhood hearing impairment (PCHI). The most cited barrier to implementation is time. The result of this social collaboration was the creation of a knowledge product, the UWO PedAMP v1.0, which has the potential to be useful to audiologists and the children and families they serve.     

Validation of LittleEARS questionnaire in Hindi language

BackgroundSubjective measures of auditory development are equally important as objective measures to obtain a realistic image of the hearing status in infants and toddlers.ObjectivesThe objectives of the current study were to translate and validate the LittleEARS questionnaire into the Hindi language, to calculate its psychometric properties and establish a regression curve of the scores obtained as a function of age, to calculate the inter-test and test retest reliability of the same. The secondary objectives were to compare the scores obtained by the normal hearing children and those with hearing impairment and to plot a regression curve of total scores obtained by the hearing-impaired children as a function of the duration of auditory training attended since their first fit of the device.Materials and methodsThe procedures involved conventional translation, reverse translation, and content validation before administering the questionnaire. The translated version was administered to parents of 59 children with normal hearing and 41 children with hearing impairment.ResultsThe finalized version had good reliability and efficient internal consistency with a Cronbach alpha value of 0.96. The mean scores obtained by the normal hearing children showed a progressive pattern as a function of age.ConclusionThe LittleEARS questionnaire has been successfully translated and validated into the Hindi language with excellent validity and reliability and can be used for screening and early identification of hearing impairment and in evaluating the outcome of audiological treatment approaches.     

Validation of the Swedish version of the LittlEARS® Auditory Questionnaire in children with normal hearing – a longitudinal study

Abstract

Objective: To externally validate the Swedish version of the LittlEARS^® Auditory Questionnaire (LEAQ) in children with normal hearing followed longitudinally, and to examine to what extent the LEAQ correlates to other measures of auditory and language development.

Design: The Swedish version of the LEAQ was completed every other month over a 2-year period and correlated with the Parents’ Evaluation of Aural/Oral Performance of Children (PEACH) and McArthur-Bates Communicative Development Inventory (CDI) to examine overlapping areas of development. Normative curve was derived through linear mixed models and the effect of time investigated with repeated measures ANOVA.

Study sample: Parents of 25 typically developing children with normal hearing (13 girls, 12 boys).

Results: The norm curve of the Swedish LEAQ showed a similar equation as the original German version and the effect of time was significant. Correlations between LEAQ and CDI were moderate to high, and between LEAQ and PEACH weak or non-existing.

Conclusion: The Swedish version of the LEAQ is a reliable tool in accordance with the original version. However, results indicate that this questionnaire to a large extent measures language skill rather than audition specifically.     

A parental questionnaire to evaluate children's Auditory Behavior in Everyday Life (ABEL)

The Auditory Behavior in Everyday Life (ABEL) questionnaire was developed to assess parental perceptions of their children's auditory behavior. The original 49-item questionnaire was intended to assess auditory communication, environmental awareness, functional independence, and social/ communication skills. Our goal was to capture some of the changes in children's everyday auditory behavior in a reliable and easily quantifiable manner. Parents of 28 children aged 4 to 14 years with varying degrees of hearing loss (mild-profound) completed the questionnaire. The results were used to examine the reliability and factor structure of the questionnaire. Eleven items had poor item-total correlations. After these items were removed, the questionnaire had an overall reliability of 0.94 (Cronbach's alpha), and three factors accounted for 20.5% of the variance in the data. In a pilot investigation of the ABEL to determine its appropriateness for children with cochlear implants, questionnaires were also given to a separate group of parents of seven children aged 3 to 12 years who were about to receive a cochlear implant. Questionnaire and speech perception results were obtained preimplant and at 6, 12, 18, 24, and 36 months. Complete (6 visits) or near-complete (4 visits) results were obtained for four children. There were significant improvements over time for both speech perception and questionnaire ratings and there was significant agreement between the two measures. Overall the results indicate excellent reliability and validity of the ABEL questionnaire. Our intent was to develop a simple, quick tool for parents to rate children's auditory skills in everyday life. A shorter questionnaire can be achieved by eliminating items with the poorest reliability and factor loadings. The resultant 24-item ABEL questionnaire has an excellent overall reliability of 0.95. The items fall within three factors, "Aural-oral," "Auditory Awareness," and "Social/Conversational Skills." Children's auditory behavior can be assessed using an overall rating or separately for the three factors. Further research is needed to evaluate this short version of the questionnaire in children wearing hearing aids and cochlear implants.     

Factors influencing the quality of life of children with cochlear implants

IntroductionThe multidimensional impact of hearing loss on the various demands of life in children using cochlear implants is represented by variables that can influence the hearing, language and quality of life outcomes of this population.ObjectiveTo evaluate the factors influencing the quality of life of children with cochlear implantation, considering age, hearing age, age at evaluation, hearing skills, spoken language, family degree of receptiveness, schooling and socioeconomic status of the parents.MethodsParticipated 30 children using cochlear implants, aged 6 to 12 years and their respective parents. The children were evaluated by the categories auditory performance, by language category, and by the children with cochlear implants: perspectives parents questionnaire. Parents were assessed by the family involvement scale.ResultsThe cochlear implant impacted the quality of life of the children, with more significant results on the increase of the social relations domain and the decrease of the family support domain. Overall, the increase of the age in the evaluation, better hearing and language skills, the mother's level of schooling and the family receptiveness correlated with the quality of life of children with cochlear implants.ConclusionThe influencing factors that correlated with the quality of life of the implanted children were the child's older age at the evaluation, the better hearing and language skills, the mother's level of schooling and the family receptiveness.     

Psychometric properties of the hearing handicap questionnaire: a Kannada (South-Indian) translation

Objective: To assess the psychometric properties of the Hearing Handicap Questionnaire (HHQ) in Kannada (a South-Indian language) among adults with hearing loss. Design: The study involved a cross-sectional survey design. Participants provided demographic details and completed the Kannada and English (original) version of the HHQ questionnaire. To evaluate test-retest reliability, ～50% of the participants completed the Kannada version for the second time after 15 days. Study sample: The sample comprised 103 adults with hearing loss recruited from local audiology clinics. Results: Exploratory factor analysis indicated a one-factor structure, which explained 71% of the variance in Kannada-HHQ scores. The internal consistency measured with Cronbach’s alpha was 0.96. The test-retest reliability correlations of the Kannada version with the English and with the same Kannada version re-administered after 15 days were 0.96 and 0.91, respectively. Convergent validity of the scale was confirmed by significant correlations with the Participation Scale and the Assessment of Quality of Life scales. Discriminant validity was found to be low as all the Kannada-HHQ questions were highly correlated with each other (r>?0.60). No floor and ceiling effects were identified. Conclusions: The psychometric properties of the Kannada-HHQ scale are considered to be adequate for clinical or research use.     

Validación del cuestionario de satisfacción de los padres con los programas de cribado auditivo neonatal en español

Introduction: Although measuring parent satisfaction has been recommended as one of the important outcome measures in assessing the effectiveness of neonatal hearing screening programs, there are few published studies investigating this issue.Objectives: To validate the Spanish version of the Parent Satisfaction Questionnaire with Neonatal Hearing Screening Program (PSQ-NHSP).Methods: 112 parents whose children had received hearing screening participated in this study. Results: High levels of satisfaction were reported with more than 90 % of parents satisfied with all aspects of the program. The psychometric properties of the Spanish version of the PSQ-NHSP were analyzed and demonstrated good internal consistency (α = 0.75). Construct validity was indicated by a significant positive relationship between overall satisfaction and the three specific dimensions in the questionnaire.Discussion: The development of a valid and reliable parent satisfaction questionnaire is important for improving hearing screening programs.     

The correlation between ECochG parameters and early auditory behavior after cochlear implantation in children

Objective: The individual outcome after cochlear implantation in children with auditory synaptopathy/neuropathy (AS/AN) is difficult to predict. A tool for preoperative assessment would be helpful for counseling parents. This study evaluates the outcome after CI in children with AS/AN and with sensorineural hearing loss (SNHL), and correlates it with the preoperative ECochG results in order to find specific parameters of prognostic value. Design: The improvement of auditory behavior after CI was retrospectively assessed using the LittlEARS questionnaire and quantified in a score (LS). This score was correlated with the CAP/SP ratio in the preoperative ECochG. The score was further correlated with the patient’s age six months following CI. Study sample: Nine children with AS/AN were compared to nine children with SNHL. Results: Both groups showed a significant improvement in LS following CI. There was a significant positive correlation between the CAP/SP ratio and the improvement in LS in all children. The correlation between age and LS was significantly negative in the SNHL group and positive in the AS/AN group. Conclusion: All children with AS/AN and SNHL benefit to a similar extent from CI. The preoperatively assessed CAP/SP ratio has a prognostic value for the development of auditory behavior following CI.     

父母和教师使用《听觉整合问卷》 评估听障儿童的一致性研究

目的 考查父母和教师使用《听觉整合问卷》(meaningful auditory integration scale,MAIS)评估听障儿童听觉发展情况的一致性.方法 请81名听障儿童的父母和康复教师分别利用MAIS中的父母问卷和教师问卷对儿童进行评估,对父母问卷和教师问卷的得分进行统计分析.结果 ①整体上,父母问卷的得分高于教师问卷的得分,差异极显著(t=4.970,P=0.000);②在信心分、警觉分和意义分3个维度上,父母问卷的得分也显著高于教师问卷得分(t1=2.115,p1=0.037;t2=5.340,P2=0.000;t3＝3.553,p3=0.001).结论 父母和教师在使用MAIS评估听障儿童的听觉发展情况时存在不一致,有待于扩大样本量或追踪进行进一步研究.     

Production of Infant Scale Evaluation (PRISE) in Italian normal hearing children: A validation study

Objectives

Parental questionnaires are important tools in the evaluation of auditory and language skills of very young children affected by sensorineural hearing loss. One of these instruments is the Production on Infant Scale Evaluation (PRISE). The purposes of this study were to adapt and validate the PRISE on Italian children with normal hearing; and to obtain normative data.

Methods

A back translation technique was used to adapt the Italian version of PRISE. The PRISE was submitted to parents of 234 normal children aged between 3 and 18 months of life. All of them passed local universal newborn hearing screenings and they presented no audiological risk factors.

Results

The PRISE internal reliability (Cronbach's alpha) was 0.87. Split-half reliability indexes were λ₄ = 0.89 and λ₆ = 0.89. Corrected item-total correlation coefficients were significant for all items. The correlation of PRISE with a modified Infant Toddler Meaningful Auditory Integration Scale (IT-MAIS), collected for convergent validity measurement purposes, was good (r = 0.743). A positive correlation of PRISE scores with age was found, reflecting on the age-dependence of pre-verbal skills.

Conclusion

These findings demonstrate high reliability and convergent validity of the Italian PRISE version. This questionnaire constitutes a robust tool for assessing early language development in infants and toddlers with normal hearing. It seems particularly sensitive to the normal language development in the first years of life, which can be very useful for early rehabilitation of hearing loss.