Uniform Screening for Speech & Language delays in the Dutch Child Health Care

Summary:

Objectives

Dutch Child Health Care (CHC) professionals systematically monitor the speech language development of children with the 'Van Wiechen Ontwikkelingsonderzoek'. However, the psychometric properties of this routine screening for speech and language delays in Child Health Care (CHC) are unknown. Our goal is to develop a standardized and validated Dutch uniform screening instrument (DUSI) for speech and language delays in children from 1 to 4 years of age.

Methods

The Dutch uniform screening instrument (DUSI) will be constructed from current screening instruments and clinical experience. 1200 Children in the age of 1 to 4 (400 in each age group) will be included in the standardization study. The children are recruited via CHC centres from all over the Netherlands, to guarantee good stratification. The validation study includes 300 children. Implications for practice The goal of our research addresses the needs of CHC to develop a national uniform screening instrument for speech and language delays of preschool children. This project is conducted in cooperation with CHC-professionals and key organizations in the Netherlands. Which ensures the implementation of the DUSI in the 'Van Wiechen Ontwikkelingsonderzoek'.