The Adaptation of Developmental Sentence Scoring and Index of Productive Syntax to Turkish.

PURPOSE: Language sampling analysis (LSA) plays an important role in evaluating language skills; hence, the study aimed to develop new assessment measures for the LSA in Turkish as alternatives to mean length of utterance (MLU) and the Language Assessment, Remediation and Screening Procedure. With this aim, Developmental Sentence Scoring (DSS) and the Index of Productive Syntax (IPSyn) were adapted to Turkish. METHOD: Eighty monolingual Turkish children were included in the study, and the age range was from 2;0 to 5;11 (years;months). The children were grouped with 6-month intervals, and each group had an equal number of participants in terms of gender. Their general and language development were tested with standardized tests, and language sampling was recorded during play with farm toys for 15-20 min. Reviewing literature and observing participants' production schemas were created for DSS for Turkish (DSS-TR) and the IPSyn for Turkish (IPSyn-TR) separately, and final versions were determined in consultation with experts. RESULTS: DSS-TR and IPSyn-TR were significantly correlated with standardized tests, and MLU values were statistically significant (p < .05). Total scores increased with age; however, grammatical categories did not go up. No difference was observed between genders (p > .05). In DSS-TR, the "sentence point" did not affect the participants' total scores because of language characteristics (p > .05). Finally, DSS-TR and IPSyn-TR were seen to be correlated with each other (p < .05). CONCLUSIONS: DSS-TR and IPSyn-TR are valid, being correlated with other assessment tools, and reliable, showing a high correlation with other raters, to reflect morphosyntactic skills. Therefore, they both are alternative assessment measures that will be used in LSA and give an opportunity to clinicians to plan their intervention goals. Also, they enable clinicians to observe progress not only specific to grammatical category but also in the total scores of the children either during or at the end of the therapy.

Examining the associations between children's receptive language skills and developmental domains in the United States and Turkey.

This study examined the relations between receptive language development and other developmental domains of preschoolers from low-income families, through an inter-cultural perspective involving the United States and Turkey. A total of 471 children and their caregivers participated in Turkey, while 287 participated in the United States. Children's development was assessed using the Ages and Stages Questionnaire for both samples. Different versions of the Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test were used for Turkish and US samples, to measure receptive language development. Results revealed similar patterns, with some differences, between the two countries. Receptive language predicted only communication and personal-social scales in the Turkish sample, while the US children's receptive language skills were associated with communication, problem solving, personal-social, and fine and gross motor development scales. These results were discussed in the context of each country, and the comparative conclusions contribute to the extant literature by illustrating the importance of language for three domains.

A Comparison between School and Home Rating Scales and Reliability-Validity of the Scales-the Scales for Diagnosing Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder.

INTRODUCTION: The purpose of the present research is to compare the Turkish translations of school and home versions of the Scales for Diagnosing Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (SCALES) developed by Ryser and McConnell with respect to age and gender and to examine the correlation between the two scales. METHOD: The research was conducted with 102 teachers and parents of 891 children aged between 5.0 and 14.11 years. 656 scale forms of parents returned to us were included in the study. The teachers filled in teacher information form, child information form, SCALES-School Rating Scale and the Turkish version of Conners' Teacher Rating Scale. The parents filled in family information form, child information form and SCALES-Home Rating Scale and the Turkish version of the Conners' Home Rating Scale. RESULTS: When SCALES-Home Rating Scale and SCALES-School Rating Scale scores of each age group were compared using t-test, it was observed that the difference in all sub-scale scores in the 5-9 age group was significant and it was also observed that in the 10-13 and 13+ age groups, the difference was significant only in the hyperactivity field. The correlation between SCALES-School Rating Scale and SCALES-Home Rating Scale was investigated. The correlation between sub-scales measuring the same abilities was found to be between 0.1 and 0.26. CONCLUSION: We assume that the Turkish version of the SCALES is a valid and reliable instrument for diagnosing ADHD. Since SCALES-Home Rating Scale scores were higher than SCALES-School Rating Scale scores and the correlation between the two scales was low, we assume that the objectivity of parents' ratings was limited. Future validity studies on diagnosed children are needed.

[An investigation of the imitation skills in children with autism spectrum disorder and their association with receptive-expressive language development]. / Otistik spektrum bozuklugu olan çocuklarda taklit becerileri ve taklidin alici-ifade edici dil gelisimi ile iliskilerinin incelenmesi.

AIMS: This study aimed to compare imitation skills in children with autism spectrum disorder, and age-matched typically developing children and children with developmental delay, as well as to examine the association between imitation skills, and receptive and expressive language development in children with autism spectrum disorder. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Imitation skills in children with autism spectrum disorder (n=18), and age-matched children with developmental delay (n=15) and typically developing children (n= 16) were assessed using the Motor Imitation Scale and Imitation Battery, and the differences in mean imitation scores between the groups were examined. Receptive language and expressive language development in the children with autism spectrum disorder were assessed using the Turkish Communicative Development Inventory (TCDI), and their association with imitation scores was explored. RESULTS: The children with autism spectrum disorder had significantly lower imitation scores than the children with developmental delay and typically developing children; however, there wasn't a significant difference in imitation scores between the children with developmental delay and typically developing children. A significant association between imitation scores, and receptive and expressive language development was observed in the children with autism spectrum disorder. CONCLUSION: The present findings indicate that deficient imitation skills are a distinctive feature of children with autism spectrum disorder and that imitation skills play a crucial role in children's language development.