Validity and Reliability of the Communication and Symbolic Behavior Scales Developmental Profile With Very Young Children

awetherb{at}garnet.acns.fsu.edu

Three studies were conducted to evaluate the validity and reliability of the three measures of the Communication and Symbolic Behavior Scales Developmental Profile (CSBS DP): (1) a one-page parent-report checklist; (2) a four-page followup caregiver questionnaire (CQ); and (3) a behavior sample (BS), which is a face-to-face evaluation of the child. Participants for these studies were drawn from a pool of 603 children for the checklist and CQ (ages 6–24 months) and 364 children for the BS (ages 12–24 months). Study 1 examined the concurrent relationship of standard scores for the checklist, CQ, and BS. Large correlations were found between the checklist and CQ and moderate to large correlations were found between each of the parent report tools and the BS. Study 2 examined test-retest stability by comparing the raw and standard scores over a 4-month retest interval. The results indicated significantly greater retest raw scores but no significant differences between standard scores from test to retest for the checklist, CQ and BS, providing evidence that the three measures detect growth over short periods but produce relatively stable rankings of children. Study 3 examined the concurrent and predictive relationship of the three CSBS DP measures and children's outcomes on standardized tests of receptive and expressive language at 2 years of age. Moderate to large correlations were found between all of the CSBS DP measures and language outcomes at 2 years of age. Multiple regression analyses indicated that the three composites were a significant predictor of receptive and expressive language outcomes. The findings from these three studies support the use of the CSBS DP as a screening and evaluation tool for identifying children with developmental delays at 12 to 24 months of age.

KEY WORDS: prelinguistic, communication, screening, assessment, language development

Submitted on January 3, 2002
Accepted on June 24, 2002

CiteULike    Connotea    Del.icio.us    Digg    Facebook    Reddit    Technorati    Twitter    What's this?

This article has been cited by other articles:

				S. Ozonoff, S. Macari, G. S. Young, S. Goldring, M. Thompson, and S. J. Rogers Atypical object exploration at 12 months of age is associated with autism in a prospective sample Autism, September 1, 2008; 12(5): 457 - 472. [Abstract] [PDF]

				A. M. Wetherby, S. Brosnan-Maddox, V. Peace, and L. Newton Validation of the Infant--Toddler Checklist as a broadband screener for autism spectrum disorders from 9 to 24 months of age Autism, September 1, 2008; 12(5): 487 - 511. [Abstract] [PDF]

				K. McLaughlin and P. W. Cascella Eliciting a Distal Gesture via Dynamic Assessment Among Students With Moderate to Severe Intellectual Disability Communication Disorders Quarterly, February 1, 2008; 29(2): 75 - 81. [Abstract] [PDF]

				S. L. Glennen Predicting Language Outcomes for Internationally Adopted Children J Speech Lang Hear Res, April 1, 2007; 50(2): 529 - 548. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				N. Watt, A. Wetherby, and S. Shumway Prelinguistic Predictors of Language Outcome at 3 Years of Age J Speech Lang Hear Res, December 1, 2006; 49(6): 1224 - 1237. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				A. M. Wetherby and J. J. Woods Early Social Interaction Project for Children With Autism Spectrum Disorders Beginning in the Second Year of Life: A Preliminary Study Topics in Early Childhood Special Education, January 1, 2006; 26(2): 67 - 82. [Abstract] [PDF]

				N. Kar, J. S. Abel, and P. S. S. Russell Letters to the editors Autism, August 1, 2005; 9(3): 332 - 334. [PDF]

				J. O Busari and N. M Weggelaar How to investigate and manage the child who is slow to speak BMJ, January 31, 2004; 328(7434): 272 - 276. [Full Text] [PDF]