Intelligibility in Context Scale: Normative and Validation Data for English-Speaking Preschoolers
Publication: Language, Speech, and Hearing Services in Schools
Volume 46, Number 3
Pages 266-276
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study was to describe normative and validation data on the Intelligibility in Context Scale (ICS; McLeod, Harrison, & McCormack, 2012c) for English-speaking children.
Method
The ICS is a 7-item, parent-report measure of children's speech intelligibility with a range of communicative partners. Data were collected from the parents of 803 Australian English-speaking children ranging in age from 4;0 (years;months) to 5;5 (37.0% were multilingual).
Results
The mean ICS score was 4.4 (SD = 0.7) out of a possible total score of 5. Children's speech was reported to be most intelligible to their parents, followed by their immediate family, friends, and teachers; children's speech was least intelligible to strangers. The ICS had high internal consistency (α = .94). Significant differences in scores were identified on the basis of sex and age but not on the basis of socioeconomic status or the number of languages spoken. There were significant differences in scores between children whose parents had concerns about their child's speech (M = 3.9) and those who did not (M = 4.6). A sensitivity of .82 and a specificity of .58 were established as the optimal cutoff. Test–retest reliability and criterion validity were established for 184 children with a speech sound disorder. There was a significant low correlation between the ICS mean score and percentage of phonemes correct (r = .30), percentage of consonants correct (r = .24), and percentage of vowels correct (r = .30) on the Diagnostic Evaluation of Articulation and Phonology (Dodd, Hua, Crosbie, Holm, & Ozanne, 2002). Thirty-one parents completed the ICS related to English and another language spoken by their child with a speech sound disorder. The significant correlations between the scores suggest that the ICS may be robust between languages.
Conclusions
This article provides normative ICS data for English-speaking children and additional validation of the psychometric properties of the ICS. The robustness of the ICS was suggested because mean ICS scores were not affected by socioeconomic status, number of languages spoken, or whether the ICS was completed in relation to English or another language. The ICS is recommended as a screening measure of children's speech intelligibility.
Get full access to this article
View all available purchase options and get full access to this article.
References
Allen, C. M., Nikolopoulos, T. P., Dyar, D., & O'Donoghue, G. M. (2001). Reliability of a rating scale for measuring speech intelligibility after pediatric cochlear implantation. Otology and Neurotology, 22, 631–633.
Australian Bureau of Statistics. (2008). An introduction to Socio-Economic Indexes for Areas (SEIFA) 2006. Canberra, Australian Capital Territory, Australia: Author.
Coplan, J., & Gleason, J. R. (1988). Unclear speech: Recognition and significance of unintelligible speech in preschool children. Pediatrics, 82, 447–452.
Crowe, K., & McLeod, S. (2014). A systematic review of cross-linguistic and multilingual speech and language outcomes for children with hearing loss. International Journal of Bilingual Education and Bilingualism, 17, 287–309. doi:10.1080/13670050.2012.758686
Dodd, B., Hua, Z., Crosbie, S., Holm, A., & Ozanne, A. (2002). Diagnostic Evaluation of Articulation and Phonology. London, England: Harcourt.
Ertmer, D. J. (2010). Relationships between speech intelligibility and word articulation scores in children with hearing loss. Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research, 53, 1075–1086. doi:10.1044/1092-4388(2010/09-0250)
Ertmer, D. J. (2011). Assessing speech intelligibility in children with hearing loss: Toward revitalizing a valuable clinical tool. Language, Speech, and Hearing Services in Schools, 42, 52–58. doi:10.1044/0161-1461(2010/09-0081)
Flipsen, P., Jr. (1995). Speaker–listener familiarity: Parents as judges of delayed speech intelligibility. Journal of Communication Disorders, 28, 3–19.
Flipsen, P., Jr. (2006). Measuring the intelligibility of conversational speech in children. Clinical Linguistics and Phonetics, 20, 303–312. doi:10.1080/02699200400024863
Gay, L. R. (1985). Educational evaluation and measurement: Competencies for analysis and application (2nd ed.). Cleveland, OH: Charles E. Merrill.
Glascoe, F. P. (2000). Parents' Evaluation of Developmental Status: Authorized Australian Version. Parkville, Victoria, Australia: Centre for Community Child Health.
Glascoe, F. P., & Dworkin, P. H. (2008). Surveillance and screening for development and behavior. In Wolraich, M., Dworkin, P. H., & Drotar, D. D. (Eds.), Developmental–behavioral pediatrics: Evidence and practice (pp. 130–144). Philadelphia, PA: Elsevier Mosby.
Hudgins, C. V., & Numbers, F. C. (1942). An investigation of the intelligibility of the speech of the deaf. In Murchison, C. (Ed.), Genetic psychology monographs (pp. 289–392). Worchester, MA: Clark University.
Huttunen, K., & Sorri, M. (2004). Methodological aspects of assessing speech intelligibility among children with impaired hearing. Acta Oto-Laryngologica, 124, 490–494. doi:10.1080/00016480310000557
IBM. (2013). SPSS Statistics (Version 22.0) [Computer software]. Armonk, NY: Author.
Kent, R. D., Miolo, G., & Bloedel, S. (1994). The intelligibility of children's speech: A review of evaluation procedures. American Journal of Speech-Language Pathology, 3, 81–95. doi:10.1044/1058-0360.0302.81
Kogovšek, D., & Ozbič, M. (2013). Lestvica razumljivosti govora v vsakdanjem življenju: slovenščina [Intelligibility in Context Scale: Slovenian]. Komunikacija, 2(3), 28–34.
Lagerberg, T. B. (2013). Assessment of intelligibility in children (Unpublished doctoral dissertation). Institute of Neuroscience and Physiology at Sahlgrenska Academy, Gothenburg, Sweden.
Lagerberg, T. B., Hartelius, L., Johnels, J. Å., Ahlman, A.-K., Börjesson, A., & Persson, C. (2015). Swedish Test of Intelligibility for Children (STI-CH)—Validity and reliability of a computer-mediated single word intelligibility test for children. Clinical Linguistics and Phonetics, 29, 201–215. doi:10.3109/02699206.2014.987925
Lousada, M., Jesus, L. M. T., Hall, A., & Joffe, V. (2014). Intelligibility as a clinical outcome measure following intervention with children with phonologically based speech-sound disorders. International Journal of Language and Communication Disorders, 49, 584–601. doi:10.1111/1460-6984.12095
McLeod, S., & Harrison, L. J. (2009). Epidemiology of speech and language impairment in a nationally representative sample of 4- to 5-year-old children. Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research, 52, 1213–1229. doi:10.1044/1092-4388(2009/08-0085)
McLeod, S., Harrison, L. J., McAllister, L., & McCormack, J. (2013). Speech sound disorders in a community study of preschool children. American Journal of Speech-Language Pathology, 22, 503–522. doi:10.1044/1058-0360(2012/11-0123)
McLeod, S., Harrison, L. J., & McCormack, J. (2012a). Bağlam İçi Anlaşılabilirlik Ölçeği: Türkçe [Intelligibility in Context Scale: Turkish] (S. Topbaş, Trans.). Bathurst, New South Wales, Australia: Charles Sturt University. Retrieved from http://www.csu.edu.au/research/multilingual-speech/ics
McLeod, S., Harrison, L. J., & McCormack, J. (2012b). Escala de la Inteligibilidad en Contexto: Español [Intelligibility in Context Scale: Spanish] (R. Prezas, R. Rojas, & B. A. Goldstein, Trans.). Bathurst, New South Wales, Australia: Charles Sturt University. Retrieved from http://www.csu.edu.au/research/multilingual-speech/ics
McLeod, S., Harrison, L. J., & McCormack, J. (2012c). Intelligibility in Context Scale. Bathurst, New South Wales, Australia: Charles Sturt University. Retrieved from http://www.csu.edu.au/research/multilingual-speech/ics
McLeod, S., Harrison, L. J., & McCormack, J. (2012d). 
[Intelligibility in Context Scale: Korean] (J.-H. Kim, Trans.). Bathurst, New South Wales, Australia: Charles Sturt University. Retrieved from http://www.csu.edu.au/research/multilingual-speech/ics
[Intelligibility in Context Scale: Korean] (J.-H. Kim, Trans.). Bathurst, New South Wales, Australia: Charles Sturt University. Retrieved from http://www.csu.edu.au/research/multilingual-speech/icsMcLeod, S., Harrison, L. J., & McCormack, J. (2012e). Intelligibility in Context Scale: Validity and reliability of a subjective rating measure. Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research, 55, 648–656. doi:10.1044/1092-4388(2011/10-0130)
Messick, S. (1993). Validity. In Linn, R. L. (Ed.), Educational measurement (3rd ed., pp. 13–103). Phoenix, AZ: Oryx Press.
Miller, N. (2013). Measuring up to speech intelligibility. International Journal of Language and Communication Disorders, 48, 601–612. doi:10.1111/1460-6984.12061
Monsen, R. B. (1981). A usable test for the speech intelligibility of deaf talkers. American Annals of the Deaf, 156, 845–852.
Most, T. (2007). Speech intelligibility, loneliness, and sense of coherence among deaf and hard-of-hearing children in individual inclusion and group inclusion. Journal of Deaf Studies and Deaf Education, 12, 495–503. doi:10.1093/deafed/enm015
Most, T., Ingber, S., & Heled-Ariam, E. (2012). Social competence, sense of loneliness, and speech intelligibility of young children with hearing loss in individual inclusion and group inclusion. Journal of Deaf Studies and Deaf Education, 17, 259–272. doi:10.1093/deafed/enr049
Ng, K. Y. M., To, C. K. S., & McLeod, S. (2014). Validation of the Intelligibility in Context Scale as a screening tool for preschoolers in Hong Kong. Clinical Linguistics and Phonetics, 28, 316–328. doi:10.3109/02699206.2013.865789
Osberger, M. J., McConkey Robbins, A., Todd, S. L., & Riley, A. I. (1994). Speech intelligibility of children with cochlear implants. Volta Review, 96(5), 169–180.
Peña, E. D., Spaulding, T. J., & Plante, E. (2006). The composition of normative groups and diagnostic decision making: Shooting ourselves in the foot. American Journal of Speech-Language Pathology, 15, 247–254. doi:10.1044/1058-0360(2006/023)
Thoroddsen, E. E. (2014). Mat barna með kuðungsígræðslu á eigin lífsgæðum: Tengsl lífsgæða við talskynjun og skiljanleika í tal [Quality of life for children with cochlear implants: Self-reported quality of life and its interrelation with speech perception and speech intelligibility] (Unpublished master's thesis). University of Iceland, Reykjavík.
Tomić, D., & Mildner, V. (2014, June). Validation of Croatian Intelligibility in Context Scale. Poster presented at the International Clinical Phonetics and Linguistics Association Symposium, Stockholm, Sweden.
Verdon, S., McLeod, S., & McDonald, S. (2014). A geographical analysis of speech-language pathology services to support multilingual children. International Journal of Speech-Language Pathology, 16, 304–316. doi:10.3109/17549507.2013.868036
Weismer, G. (2009). Speech intelligibility. In Ball, M. J., Perkins, M. R., Müller, N., & Howard, S. (Eds.), The handbook of clinical linguistics (pp. 568–582). Malden, MA: Blackwell.
Weston, A. D., & Shriberg, L. D. (1992). Contextual and linguistic correlates of intelligibility in children with developmental phonological disorders. Journal of Speech and Hearing Research, 35, 1316–1332.
Wilcox, K., & Morris, S. (1999). Children's Speech Intelligibility Measure (CSIM). San Antonio, TX: Pearson Assessments.
World Health Organization. (2007). International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health: Children and Youth Version (ICF-CY). Geneva, Switzerland: Author.
Wren, Y., & Roulstone, S. (2013). Phoneme Factory Sound Sorter: Australian–English. Bristol, England: Speech and Language Therapy Research Unit.
Information & Authors
Information
Published In
Language, Speech, and Hearing Services in Schools
Volume 46 • Number 3 • July 2015
Pages: 266-276
PubMed: 25934948
Copyright
Copyright © 2015 American Speech-Language-Hearing Association.
History
- Received: Dec 21, 2014
- Revised: Mar 26, 2015
- Accepted: Apr 23, 2015
- Published in issue: Jul 1, 2015
Authors
Metrics & Citations
Metrics
Article Metrics
View all metricsCitations
Download article citation data for:
If you have the appropriate software installed, you can download article citation data to the citation manager of your choice. Simply select your manager software from the list below and click Download.
For more information or tips please see 'Downloading to a citation manager' in the Help menu.
Citing Literature
- Lottie D. Morison, Milou G.P. Kennis, Dmitrijs Rots, Arianne Bouman, Joost Kummeling, Elizabeth Palmer, Adam P. Vogel, Frederique Liegeois, Amanda Brignell, Siddharth Srivastava, Zoe Frazier, Di Milnes, Himanshu Goel, David J. Amor, Ingrid E. Scheffer, Tjitske Kleefstra, Angela T. Morgan, Expanding the phenotype of Kleefstra syndrome: speech, language and cognition in 103 individuals, Journal of Medical Genetics, 10.1136/jmg-2023-109702, 61, 6, (578-585), (2024).
- Amanda C. Del Risco, Kristina Dunworth, Banafsheh Sharif-Askary, Arthur H. “Barron” Suárez, Jillian Nyswonger, Matthew Ford, Jennifer Kern, Carlee Jones, Eileen Raynor, Alexander C. Allori, Exploration of the Utility of the Generic ICHOM Standard Set Measures in Evaluating the Speech of Patients with Cleft Lip/Palate, Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery - Global Open, 10.1097/GOX.0000000000005519, 12, 1, (e5519), (2024).
- Pauline van der Straten Waillet, Kathryn Crowe, Brigitte Charlier, Cécile Colin, Speech production skills of bilingual children using cochlear implants, Journal of Deaf Studies and Deaf Education, 10.1093/jdsade/enae038, (2024).
- Yu Hui Chen, Mary Lay Choo Lee, Susan J. Rickard Liow, Selena Ee-Li Young, Exploring the relationship between cleft type and speech outcome in 4-to-6-year-olds with non-syndromic cleft palate using different measures: A preliminary report, Clinical Linguistics & Phonetics, 10.1080/02699206.2024.2356035, (1-16), (2024).
- Elana J. Forbes, Lottie D. Morison, Fatma Lelik, Tegan Howell, Simone Debono, Himanshu Goel, Pauline Burger, Jean‐Louis Mandel, David Geneviève, David J. Amor, Angela T. Morgan, Speech and language in DDX3X ‐neurodevelopmental disorder: A call for early augmentative and alternative communication intervention , American Journal of Medical Genetics Part B: Neuropsychiatric Genetics, 10.1002/ajmg.b.32971, 195, 6, (2024).
- Kristina Dunworth, Banafsheh Sharif-Askary, Lynn Grames, Carlee Jones, Jennifer Kern, Jillian Nyswonger-Sugg, Arthur Suárez, Karen Thompson, Jessica Ching, Brent Golden, Corinne Merrill, Phuong Nguyen, Kamlesh Patel, Carolyn R. Rogers-Vizena, S. Alex Rottgers, Gary B. Skolnick, Alexander C. Allori, Using “Real-World Data” to Study Cleft Lip/Palate Care: An Exploration of Speech Outcomes from a Multi-Center US Learning Health Network, The Cleft Palate Craniofacial Journal, 10.1177/10556656231207469, (2023).
- Saranda Ombashi, Melissa Srijanti Kurniawan, Alexander Allori, Banafsheh Sharif-Askary, Carolyn Rogers-Vizena, Maarten Koudstaal, Marie-Christine Franken, Aebele B Mink van der Molen, Irene Mathijssen, Anne Klassen, Sarah Lisa Versnel, What is the optimal assessment of speech? A multicentre, international evaluation of speech assessment in 2500 patients with a cleft, BMJ Open, 10.1136/bmjopen-2023-071571, 13, 12, (e071571), (2023).
- Dalia M. Abdulkader, Karla N. Washington, Leslie E. Kokotek, Asrar Al-tuwairqi, Anfal Al-tamimi, Intelligibility in Context Scale: Psychometric evidence and implications for Saudi Arabic-English-speaking preschoolers, International Journal of Speech-Language Pathology, 10.1080/17549507.2023.2240040, 26, 4, (544-555), (2023).
- Sharynne McLeod, Grace Kelly, Beena Ahmed, Kirrie J. Ballard, Equitable access to speech practice for rural Australian children using the SayBananas! mobile game, International Journal of Speech-Language Pathology, 10.1080/17549507.2023.2205057, 25, 3, (388-402), (2023).
- Elizabeth Murray, Shelley Velleman, Jonathan L. Preston, Robert Heard, Akhila Shibu, Patricia McCabe, The Reliability of Expert Diagnosis of Childhood Apraxia of Speech, Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research, 10.1044/2023_JSLHR-22-00677, 67, 9S, (3309-3326), (2023).
- See more
View Options
Sign In Options
ASHA member? If so, log in with your ASHA website credentials for full access.
Member Login