The validity and reliability of autism behavior checklist in Iran

Objectives: The aim of this study was to evaluate the psychometric features of the Persian version of the Autism Behavior Checklist (ABC). Method: The International Quality of Life Assessment (IQOLA) approach was used to translate the English ABC into Persian. A total sample of 184 parents of children including 114 children with autism disorder (mean age =7.21, SD =1.65) and 70 typically developing children (mean age = 6.82, SD =1.75) completed the ABC. Internal consistency, test-retest reliability, concurrent and discriminant validity, and cut-off score were assessed. Results: The results of this study revealed that the Persian version of the ABC has an acceptable degree of internal consistency (.73). Test-retest comparisons using interclass correlation confirmed the instrument's time stability (.83). The instrument's concurrent validity with Gilliam Autism Rating Scale (GARS) was verified; the correlation between total scores was .94. In the discriminant validity, the autism group had significantly higher scores compared to the normal group. Receiver Operating Characteristic (ROC) analysis revealed that individuals with total scores below 25 are less likely to be in the autism group. Conclusion: The Persian version of the ABC can be used as an initial screening tool in clinical contexts

The Persian developmental sentence scoring as a clinical measure of morphosyntax in children

Background: Developmental Sentence Scoring (DSS) was developed as a numerical measurement and a clinical method based on the morphosyntactic acquisition in the English language. The aim of this study was to develop a new numerical tool similar to DSS to assess the morphosyntactic abilities in Persian-speaking children. Methods: In this cross-sectional and comparative study, the language samples of 115 typically developing Persian-speaking children aged 30 - 65 months were audio recorded during the free play and picture description sessions. The Persian Developmental Sentence Score (PDSS) and the Mean Length of Utterance (MLU) were calculated. Pearson correlation and one - way Analysis of variance (ANOVA) were used for data analysis. Results: The correlation between PDSS and MLU in morphemes (convergent validity) was significant with a correlation coefficient of 0.97 (p < 0.001). The value Cronbach's Alpha (α= 0.79) in the grammatical categories and the split-half coefficient (0.86) indicated acceptable internal consistency reliability. Conclusion: The PDSS could be used as a reliable numerical measurement to estimate the syntactic development in Persian-speaking children

Research paper: Wh-questions' expression in persianspeaking children: A comparison between spontaneous and elicited probes

Objectives: Studies have shown that most children before the age of 5 are capable to comprehend and express wh-questions in daily conversations. This study aimed at comparing the ability of wh-questions' production in 4-6-year-old children in spontaneous and elicited conditions. Methods: In this descriptive-analytic study, 72 (n=72) 4-6-year-old Persian-speaking children were selected randomly from kindergartens of Hamadan, Iran. Three different probes were used to evaluate the spontaneous and elicited conditions in the expression of questions with "what, where, who, why, and when". In the first probe, children were encouraged to ask questions spontaneously about experimental pictures. While in the second probe, the verbal prompt was presented about wh-questions, and wh-words were provided as key-words in the third probe. Repeated measures analysis of variance test with between-subjects' factors of sex (male, female) and age group (4-5 years, 5-6 years) and within-subjects' factor of the method (I, II, III) was performed in the study. Results: There was a main effect of probes in "where, who, and when" questions and the mean scores of the II and III probes were significantly higher than those of probe I. Children in probe I received higher scores for why questions than the other probes. "What" questions were expressed more by children in probe II. "Why, when, and where" scores were significantly higher for 5-6 years group than for 4-5 years group. There was no significant effect on all wh-questions. Discussion: The higher accuracy of wh-questions in probe II and III compared to probe I suggested that this competence is significantly developed by the use of elicited procedures (verbal prompt or providing wh-words as key-words) in comparison with no elicitation. © 2020 University of Social Welfare and Rehabilitation Sciences

Prevalence of cleft lip and palate among four provinces in the West and North-West of Iran

Background: One of the most common anomalies in newborn infants is cleft lip and/or cleft palate (CL/P). In spite of several studies about the prevalence of this, no investigation evaluated this prevalence in the West and North-West of Iran. With due attention to different ethnic groups in this area, the aim of this study is to investigate whether the distribution of CL/P live births varies regionally in this area of Iran. Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted using hospital registry records to identify all children born with CL/P. The hospitals with a maternity unit were selected in the capital cities of four provinces in the West and North-West of Iran, East Azarbaijan, Kurdestan, Gilan, and Markazi. The population under study included all infants born alive from 2008 to 2012. Results: During the study period, 107,317 live births were registered in the hospitals with a maternity unit of four cities, and 52 infants (0.485/1000 live births) were born with CL/P. The prevalence in Rasht, Arak, Sanandaj, and Tabriz cities was 0.557, 0.352, 0.503, and 0.559/1000 live births, respectively (P 0.05), whereas the prevalence of CL/P based on sex was statistically different among the four provinces (P < 0.05). Conclusion: This study shows regional variations in the birth prevalence of clefts and various cleft types. The different effects of gender on the birth prevalence of CL/P from city-to-city may be explained environmentally and/or by genetic factors affecting the development of oral clefts. © 2015 Journal of Research in Medical Sciences

A comparison of morpho-syntactic abilities in deaf children with cochlear implant and 5-year-old normal-hearing children

Introduction: Children with cochlear implants (CIs) have problems in morpho-syntactic abilities more than other language skills. The current study was aimed to evaluate the language samples of children with CIs by using a numerical measurement tool, Persian developmental sentence scoring (PDSS). Method: In this cross-sectional, descriptive, analytical study, 33 children (22 children with CIs and 11 with normal hearing) were recruited. Language samples of the children were recorded during the description of pictures. The PDSS was used as a reliable numerical measurement tool for analyzing the first 100 consecutive intelligible utterances. Results: We found a significant difference in the mean PDSS total scores (p = 0.0001) between the normal-hearing children and deaf children using CIs for 5 years. Similarly, the results revealed a significant difference in the mean PDSS total scores (p = 0.0001) between the normal-hearing children and 5-year-old deaf children with CIs. There was no significant difference in the mean PDSS total scores between the two groups of children with CIs. Conclusion: Children with CIs can form simple sentences but probably exhibit poor abilities for using complex sentences and essential morphology items. © 2018 Elsevier B.V

A comparison of morpho-syntactic abilities in deaf children with cochlear implant and 5-year-old normal-hearing children

Introduction: Children with cochlear implants (CIs) have problems in morpho-syntactic abilities more than other language skills. The current study was aimed to evaluate the language samples of children with CIs by using a numerical measurement tool, Persian developmental sentence scoring (PDSS). Method: In this cross-sectional, descriptive, analytical study, 33 children (22 children with CIs and 11 with normal hearing) were recruited. Language samples of the children were recorded during the description of pictures. The PDSS was used as a reliable numerical measurement tool for analyzing the first 100 consecutive intelligible utterances. Results: We found a significant difference in the mean PDSS total scores (p = 0.0001) between the normal-hearing children and deaf children using CIs for 5 years. Similarly, the results revealed a significant difference in the mean PDSS total scores (p = 0.0001) between the normal-hearing children and 5-year-old deaf children with CIs. There was no significant difference in the mean PDSS total scores between the two groups of children with CIs. Conclusion: Children with CIs can form simple sentences but probably exhibit poor abilities for using complex sentences and essential morphology items. © 2018 Elsevier B.V

Language therapy outcomes in deaf children with cochlear implant using a new developed program: A pilot study

Background: Cochlear implanted (CI) children have problems in most aspects of language and in particular with regards to grammar. Considering the lack of studies in the field of grammar treatment in CI children and bearing in the mind that CI children have the potential to develop language, the aim of the present study was to investigate the effect of treating grammar in CI children using a treatment grammar program. Methodology: first, the literature related to grammar were reviewed so as to extract different grammatical components for developing grammar treatment program and to make sentences for each element as well as to compile a manual for its implementation. Second, the validity of the sentences was examined using the Delphi method. Third, grammar treatment was performed on five CI children. Persian Developmental Sentence Scoring(PDSS) and Mean Length of Utterance(MLU) were used to evaluate them before and after treatment. Results: Five grammatical classes were extracted, and the grammatical elements were classified in each category according to age. For all of the grammatical items, 2076 sentences were constructed. After applying the Delphi method, a total of 1936 sentences with Kendall's coefficient of concordance (W) of 71, remained. Using this program, grammar treatment was effective in all five children. The PDSS and MLU increased in all five children during the treatment phase, which was confirmed by Percentage of Non-overlapping Data (PND), Improvement Rate Difference (IRD). During the follow-up period, the children showed that they were able to maintain the trained components. Conclusion: Cochlear implants have the potential to learn language skills, and the present study confirms their ability to learn grammar, using a comprehensive grammar treatment program. © 202

Cluster production in speech of Persian-speaking cochlear implanted children

Objective: This study is to examine the final cluster processing in Cochlear implanted child and compare the hearing age factor with the chronological age one. Introduction: Scholars argue that, in a Cochlear Implanted (CI) child, the hearing age is the crucial factor in the speech rather than the chronological age. To determine which factor affects the production more, we examined the mastery of Persian final consonant clusters realization in CI children at one-to-two years of hearing experience and compared the result to Normal Hearing (NH) peers. Methods and materials: The study included 21 children in two categories of girls and boys. Using picture-naming task, we collected the data from participants. Result: Data analysis showed that all the children used the same set of phonological rules at their developmental stages of word final consonant cluster but the distribution of preferences differed between the groups. In one hand, Cluster reduction was the most produced phonological rule in both groups and on the other hand, CI children preferred breathing, coalescence and cluster simplification more than NH children did. Considering Gender, unlike NH girls and boys who had the same trend in their phonological system, CI girls were closer to complete production rather than boys. Conclusion: According to this survey, what seems to be important in speech production of CI children is years of hearing experience rather than chronological age. Girls tried different rules compared to boys for cluster production, but when the mastery over cluster production was achieved, there was no difference between girls and boys. © 2018 Elsevier B.V

Language sampling for children with and without cochlear implant: MLU, NDW, and NTW

Objectives: Cochlear implants (CIs) can considerably improve the oral language of prelingual hearing-impaired children. However, because most studies have been performed with English speaking children, available information regarding Persian-speaking children is scarce. Therefore, this study compared measures of lexical diversity (numbers of different words and total words), and syntactic complexity (mean length of utterance) in Persian-speaking children with and without CIs. Methods: A cross-sectional study with 20 children with CIs and 20 typically developing children was conducted. To collect the data, the children's language samples were gathered via picture descriptions. The first 50 utterances were analyzed. Results: All measures were significantly different between children with CIs and their typically developing age-matched peers, whereas no differences between children with CIs and their typically developing hearing age-matched peers were detected (p<. 0.05). Conclusions: CIs have been recognized to be one of the most beneficial rehabilitation prostheses because they help children to acquire speech and language abilities similar to their typically developing hearing age-matched peers. After implantation, the performance of children with CIs is similar to the performance of normal children with the same hearing experience. The duration of the hearing experience after the implantation is an important factor for determining the development of speech and language abilities. © 2015 Elsevier Ireland Ltd