Assessment Tool for Children's Impairments in Spontaneo*

描述(由申请人提供)：为响应申请(FRA-DC-05-001)以适应或开发可用于表征语言障碍行为表型的语言措施，我们项目的目标是设计一种工具，量化2至10岁疑似语言障碍儿童自发语言中语用、句法和语义的使用情况。我们将整合发展心理语言学、言语病理学和心理计量学的知识，设计一种超越传统语言能力测量的工具，以一种用户友好、可靠的方式评估与不同语言和发育障碍相关的语言习得和使用过程，提供从学龄前到学龄儿童的连续测量。在自闭症诊断观察计划(ADOS)中使用的自然主义观察框架的基础上，我们将创建一种工具，具体侧重于评估更广泛的语言障碍儿童群体中的自发语言使用，包括替代版本，以衡量英语和西班牙语的进展和版本。提出了三个发展阶段：1)通过咨询一组心理语言学家和包括言语病理学家、特殊教育教师和父母在内的一组社区“消费者”，确定该工具涵盖的主要语言成分，2)转录和编码来自两个地点(密歇根大学和波士顿大学)的两组2-10岁儿童的分层样本的100个现有ADOS录像带并对其进行编码，这些儿童a)患有自闭症以外的发育迟缓或语言障碍，以及b)患有自闭症谱系障碍的儿童，评估哪些方面的语言在ADOS模块2和3中的现有情况下是容易观察和编码的，以及3)新工具的试点测试，包括额外的任务和一系列新的代码，以评估新测量的可行性和心理测量学特性。公共卫生意义：在该项目中，将设计并试行一种新的评估工具，以评估语言障碍儿童的语用、句法和语义。该工具将提供衡量儿童语言使用困难严重程度的方法，可用于研究各种神经生物学因素之间的关系。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): In response to a request for applications (FRA-DC-05-001) for the adaptation or development of language measures that can be used in the characterization of the behavioral phenotypes of language disorders, the goal of our project is to design an instrument that quantifies the use of pragmatics, syntax and semantics in the spontaneous language of children from 2 to 10 years who are suspected of having a language disorder. We will integrate knowledge from developmental psycholinguistics, speech pathology, and psychometrics to design an instrument that moves beyond traditional measures of language ability to assess processes that underlie language acquisition and use associated with different language and developmental disorders in a user-friendly, reliable way that provides continuity of measurement from preschool age to school age children. Building on the framework of naturalistic observations used in the Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule (ADOS), we will create an instrument with a specific focus on assessing spontaneous language use in a broader population of children with language impairments, including alternate versions in order to measure progress and versions in both English and Spanish. Three phases of development are proposed: 1) Identification of major components of language to be covered by the instrument through consultation with a group of psycholinguists and a group of community "consumers" including speech pathologists, special education teachers and parents, 2) Transcription of 100 and coding of 30 existing ADOS videotapes of stratified samples of two groups of 2 - 10 year-old children from two sites (University of Michigan and Boston University), those with a) developmental delays or language impairments other than autism, and b) those with autism spectrum disorders, to assess what aspects of language are easily observable and codable during existing contexts in the ADOS Modules 2 and 3 and 3) Pilot testing of the new instrument, including additional tasks and a range of new codes, in order to assess the feasibility and psychometric properties of the new measure. Public Health Significance: In the project, a new assessment tool to evaluate the pragmatics, syntax and semantics of children with language impairments will be designed and pilot tested. The tool will provide ways of measuring the severity of children's difficulties in language use that can be employed in studies of the relationship between various neurobiological factors.