Measurement of child-directed speech: A survey of clinical practice

Purpose: Clear correlations exist between the quality and quantity of child-directed speech (CDS) and children's language development. Interventions for children with poor language skills involve manipulation of the quality and/or quantity of CDS in a child's daily experience. Assessment of CDS is therefore important. There are a range of CDS measures reported in the literature, however no data exist on the use of these in clinical practice. The aim of this study was to identify current clinical practices in measurement of CDS. Method: An online survey was developed using the Qualtrics platform. Brief study information and a link to the survey were distributed to speech-language pathologists working in New Zealand and Australia. Result: Responses from 116 clinicians were analysed. Participants mainly reported using informal analysis of adult-child observations, checklists and informal discussion with adults to measure CDS. The barriers to measuring CDS reported were time, teaming with adults and psychometric properties of informal methods. Conclusion: There are few psychometrically validated clinical tools which are "fit for purpose" to measure qualitative aspects of CDS. Automated speech analysis technology appears to have potential as a quantitative measure of CDS to support clinical practice.