Abstract
Introduction
The introduction of neonatal hearing screening and the increasingly early age at which children can receive a cochlear implant has intensified the need for a validated questionnaire to assess the speech production of children aged 0‒18. Such a questionnaire has been created, the LittlEARS® Early Speech Production Questionnaire (LEESPQ). This study aimed to validate a second, revised edition of the LEESPQ.
Methods and materials
Questionnaires were returned for 362 children with normal hearing. Completed questionnaires were analysed to determine if the LEESPQ is reliable, prognostically accurate, internally consistent, and if gender or multilingualism affects total scores.
Results
Total scores correlated positively with age. The LEESPQ is reliable, accurate, and consistent, and independent of gender or lingual status. A norm curve was created.
Discussion
This second version of the LEESPQ is a valid tool to assess the speech production development of children with normal hearing, aged 0‒18, regardless of their gender. As such, the LEESPQ may be a useful tool to monitor the development of paediatric hearing device users.
Conclusion
The second version of the LEESPQ is a valid instrument for assessing early speech production of children aged 0‒18 months.
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Acknowledgements
The authors would like to thank the parents who consented to participate in this study, Edda Amann (MED-EL) for her statistical analysis, Michael Todd (MED-EL) for his medical writing services on a version of the manuscript, and Ilona Anderson (MED-EL) for her interpretative support.
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Vanessa Hoffmann is employed at MED-EL, as are Michael Todd (medical writing) and Edda Amann (statistics). In the past, Annerose Keilmann has received research funding from MED-EL.
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Keilmann, A., Friese, B., Lässig, A. et al. Validation of the second version of the LittlEARS® Early Speech Production Questionnaire (LEESPQ) in German-speaking children with normal hearing. Eur Arch Otorhinolaryngol 275, 883–888 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00405-018-4889-4
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00405-018-4889-4