Development, Validation, and Reliability of a Teacher-Reported Speech and Language Disorders Scale

Purpose: This study addresses the critical need for early identification of speech and language disorders in Turkish primary school children by developing a novel teacher-reported screening tool and investigates its psychometric properties. Method: A new scale called Teacher-Reported Speech and Language Disorders Scale (TSLDS) was developed based on literature review and expert consultation. After the item generation process, the content validity of the items was assessed by a panel of experts. Next, the preliminary scale was administrated to a sample, evaluated, and revised. The final version of the scale was administered to 84 teachers of 980 children across 19 public schools. Construct validity, known-groups validity, test–retest reliability, internal consistency, and interrater reliability of the scale were examined. Results: Exploratory factor analysis and confirmatory factor analysis revealed a unidimensional structure with high factor loadings. The scale demonstrated strong internal consistency (α =.94), test–retest reliability (r =.97), interrater reliability (Krippendorff α =.98), weighted kappa (κw =.95), and intraclass correlation (R =.94). Significant group differences between children with and without speech-language disorders were observed (η2 =.77). Receiving operating characteristic analysis indicated excellent classification performance (area under the receiver operating characteristic curve =.99) and established a cutoff score of 5, with high sensitivity (91.7%) and specificity (90.9%). Conclusions: The TSLDS possesses high reliability and validity and effectively differentiates between typically developing children and children with speechlanguage disorders. This study offers a practical solution for early screening in schools, crucial for timely evaluation and referral to treatment.