ERIC Number: EJ1463882
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2025-Mar
Pages: 18
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-1368-2822
EISSN: EISSN-1460-6984
Available Date: 2025-03-18
The UK C-BiLLT: Validity and Reliability of an Online Assessment of Spoken Language Comprehension for Children with Severe Motor Disorders
Lindsay Pennington1; Lily Potts1; Janice Murray2; Johanna Geytenbeek3; Kate Laws4; Jenefer Sargent5; Michael Clarke6; John Swettenham7; Julie Lachkovic2; Catherine Martin8; Elaine McColl1
International Journal of Language & Communication Disorders, v60 n2 e70025 2025
Background: Current UK measures of early spoken language comprehension require manipulation of toys and/or verbal responses and are not accessible to children with severe motor impairments. The Computer-Based Instrument for Low motor Language Testing (C-BiLLT) (originally validated in Dutch) is a computerized test of spoken language comprehension that children with motor disorders control using their usual response methods. Aims: To create a UK version of the C-BiLLT, evaluate its validity and reliability, and assess its practicability for children with motor disorders. Methods & Procedures: The C-BiLLT was translated into British English and items were adapted to ensure familiarity to UK children. A total of 424 children (233 females, 191 males) aged 1:6-7:5 (years:months) without developmental disabilities were recruited from North East England. Children completed the UK C-BiLLT and Preschool Language Scales 5 (PLS-5) for convergent validity evaluation and either the visual reception subtest of the Mullen Scales of Early Learning (MSEL) (children aged 1:8-5:5) or Ravens Coloured Progressive Matrices (CPM) (ages 5:6-7:5) to assess divergent validity. A total of 33 children completed the UK C-BiLLT within 4 weeks of initial assessment for test-retest reliability assessment (intraclass correlation coefficient--ICC). Internal consistency was assessed using Cronbach's alpha and exploratory factor analysis examined structural validity. A total of 24 children (10 female, 14 male; aged 4-12 years) with non-progressive motor disorders who use augmentative and alternative communication (AAC), rated the UK C-BiLLT's ease of use and completed British Picture Vocabulary Scales (BPVS) and CPM as for convergent and divergent validity testing. Outcomes & Results: Internal consistency was high for children without motor disorders ([alpha] = 0.96). Exploratory factor analysis extracted two factors, together explaining 68% of the total variance. Test-retest reliability was excellent (ICC = 0.95; 0.90-0.98 95% confidence interval--CI). UK C-BiLLT scores correlated highly with PLS-5 (r = 0.91) and MSEL (r = 0.81), and moderately with CPM (r = 0.41); and increased across full-year age-bands (F(6, 407) = 341.76, p = < 0.001, [eta-squared] = 0.83). A total of 19 children with motor disorders rated the UK C-BiLLT as easy/ok to use; two judged it hard; three declined to rate the ease of use. Their UK C-BiLLT scores correlated highly with BPVS (r = 0.77) and moderately with CPM (r = 0.57). Conclusions & Implications: The UK C-BiLLT is a valid, reliable measure of early spoken language development and is potentially practicable for children with motor disorders. It may facilitate international research on the language development of children with motor disorders and evaluation of intervention at the national level.
Descriptors: Foreign Countries, Children, Motor Development, Psychomotor Skills, Oral Language, Test Validity, Test Reliability, Media Adaptation, Translation, Computer Assisted Testing, Augmentative and Alternative Communication, Language Acquisition, Cognitive Ability, Young Children, Intelligence Tests, Language Impairments
Wiley. Available from: John Wiley & Sons, Inc. 111 River Street, Hoboken, NJ 07030. Tel: 800-835-6770; e-mail: cs-journals@wiley.com; Web site: https://www-wiley-com.bibliotheek.ehb.be/en-us
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: United Kingdom (England)
Identifiers - Assessments and Surveys: Mullen Scales of Early Learning; Raven Progressive Matrices
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A
Data File: URL: https://doi-org.bibliotheek.ehb.be/10.25405/data.ncl.27194901
Author Affiliations: 1Population Health Sciences Institute, Faculty of Medical Sciences, Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne, UK; 2Faculty of Health and Education, Manchester Metropolitan University, Manchester, UK; 3Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, Amsterdam UMC, VU University, Amsterdam, the Netherlands; 4Regional Communication Aids Service, Cumbria, Northumberland, Tyne and Wear NHS Foundation Trust, Newcastle upon Tyne, UK; 5Great Ormond Street Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, London, UK; 6Department of Speech, Language and Hearing Sciences, San Francisco State University, San Francisco, USA; 7Division of Psychology & Language Sciences, UCL, London, UK; 8Communication Aid Service East of England, Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, Cambridge, UK