Construction and standardization of Shanghai early language screening test (SELS)

Abstract

Background: There are no available language screening tools standardized on the Shanghai population, thus this study aimed to construct and standardize the Shanghai Early Language Screening Test (SELS) for Putonghua-speaking infants and toddlers. SELS is in the form of parental questionnaires and is composed of 2 parts, which focuses on early communication development and one’s receptive and expressive vocabulary inventory. Methods: Two pilot studies were conducted to establish the finalized test items. For the main study, 249 typically developing children ranging from 7 to 30 months old and 14 children with language impairment ranging from 12 to 36 months old were recruited, whereas some participants are required to be assessed with the language component of the Gesell Developmental Schedules as well. Results: Developmental trends were obtained. SELS showed high reliability and validity in terms of internal consistency (α = .998) and concurrent validity (r = .72 , p < .001). Diagnostic efficiency was discussed and a cut-off score for SELS was obtained. Conclusion: This study serves as a strong basis for the further development of SELS for clinical use. This enables early screening of children at risk of language delay, thus early monitoring and intervention can be done.