Arabic-speaking Egyptian Children Research Articles

Translation, cultural adaptation, and validation of an Arabic version of the test of narrative language—second edition

BackgroundThe significance of narrative skills is evident due to their role in the development of language and their connection to significant social and academic skills. This study aimed to translate, adapt, and validate the Test of Narrative Language-Second Edition (TNL-2) for its use as a tool for the assessment of narrative language in Arabic-speaking Egyptian children. In a cross-sectional study design, the Arabic-translated version of the TNL-2 was administered to 200 typically developing Arabic-speaking Egyptian children ranging in age from 4 years to 15 years and 11 months for validation. The participants were categorized according to their age into ten groups and their scores were analyzed. Face validity was assessed by asking five expert phoniatricians to review the Arabic version of the TNL-2 and complete a questionnaire that assessed the test’s effectiveness in measuring different narrative skills.ResultsA statistically significant difference was found when comparing the TNL-2 scores among the age groups under study. In addition, there was a significant correlation between standardized Arabic language test scores and the total comprehension and total production subtests’ raw scores of the TNL-2. The test-retest reliability and inter-rater agreement demonstrated a high level of reliability and inter-rater agreement. Experts have reached a consensus that the Arabic version of the TNL-2 is capable of evaluating the primary microstructural and macrostructural components of Arabic narratives. Furthermore, it can provide insights into the overall narrative skills of Egyptian Arabic-speaking children.ConclusionThe Arabic-translated version of the TNL-2 demonstrated validity and reliability as an instrument for assessing narrative language comprehension and production skills in Arabic-speaking Egyptian children.

Exploring the relation between the central auditory processing functions and language development among Arabic-speaking children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder

Abstract Background Debate still exists on the effect of central auditory processing disorder (CAPD) on the language of children with attention deficit hyperactive disorder (ADHD). This study aimed to explore the deficits of the central auditory processing (CAP) functions and their relation to language development and ADHD symptoms in 30 Egyptian Arabic-speaking children with ADHD between 4 and ≤ 7 years old. ADHD symptoms were rated by Conners’ Parent Rating Scale–Revised. Language development was assessed by the Modified Pre-school Language Scale (PLS) 4th edition, the Arabic version, and the Egyptian Arabic Pragmatic Language Test. CAP functions were tested by the Pediatric Speech Intelligibility (PSI) test (Arabic version). Results Sixty percent of the ADHD children had comorbid CAPD with predominance among ADHD children of combined type. There was a significant positive correlation between all PSI subtests assessing the monotonic auditory closure and dichotic auditory separation abilities in both ears and the language ages by the modified PLS-4. There was also a significant positive correlation between scores of the Egyptian Arabic Pragmatic Language Test (EAPLT) and the monotonic auditory closure ability in both ears and auditory separation ability in the right ear only.There was a non-significant mild difference in scores of the modified PLS-4 in favor of the ADHD children with normal CAP functions. Conclusion Not all children with ADHD have central auditory processing disorder as both ADHD and CAPD are independent disorders. Better central auditory processing functions are associated with well-developed language and higher pragmatic skills in ADHD children.

Language Development in Egyptian Arabic Speaking Children with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder

Abstract Background Children with ADHD were found to have language impairment in many studies. The way they use language in their everyday life may be affected, namely, the pragmatic aspect of language. Measuring the affected parameters in all aspects of language will help to reach better intervention. Aim of the Work This study was set out to observe relationships between hyperactivity/impulsivity and inattention with all language domains in the Egyptian Arabic speaking children with attention deficit hyperactive disorder with aim of better intervention. Subjects and Methods This study was an observational analytical study conducted on 30 Egyptian Arabic-speaking children who were diagnosed as having ADHD with age ranging from 4-7 years. The study was carried out at the Units of Phoniatrics and Audiology of Ain-Shams University hospitals (El-Demerdash and Ain-Shams University Specialized hospital). Children were evaluated to establish the diagnosis of ADHD and its type following the diagnostic criteria of the DSM-V criteria (1) and The Conners‟ Parent Rating Scale – Revised “CPRS-R” (8). The children language abilities were assessed using the Modified PLS-4, the Arabic version, the Standardized Egyptian Arabic Pragmatic Language Test “EAPLT” (13). This assessment covered receptive and expressive language abilities, as well as pragmatic and phonological skills. Results Compared to norms, it was found that the ADHD children who participated in this study had non-significant language delays in parameters of. Seventy % of the participating ADHD children had total pragmatic test scores below their 5th percentile, while 30% of the children had total pragmatic test score above their 5th percentile. Results also revealed that 50% of the ADHD children failed to master certain sounds corresponding to their phonological age. A statistically significant negative correlation was observed between each of Inattention scores, Hyperactivity scores, and Impulsivity with receptive language age, expressive language age, total language age, and pragmatic language scores. Conclusion Receptive and expressive language, children with ADHD in this study did not show major difficulties in areas beyond what would be expected in normally developing children. The majority of children with ADHD in the present study had problems with pragmatic aspects. Half of the children failed to master certain sounds corresponding to their chronological age.

Impact of Age on Reading Abilities in Egyptian Children with Unilateral Cochlear Implant

Abstract Background Reading problems means difficulty in learning to read or interpret words, letters, and other symbols. Children with cochlear implants generally suffer from reading problems which have been partly attributed to underlying deficit in phonological awareness. Chronological age represents important factor that affects their reading abilities. Aim of the Work This work aims to assess reading abilities in cochlear implant school children in order to highlight their reading problem profile, as to consider such problems in earlier years of life. This would subsequently solve their expected academic delay. Subjects and Methods This study was applied on 30 Egyptian Arabic-speaking children with unilateral cochlear implant in the age range between 5 to 11 years old. All of them underwent audiological evaluation, psychometric evaluation, Phonological Awareness Test, and Arabic Reading Screening Test (ARST). Results Analysis of the results of the participated children to the phonological awareness test and Arabic reading screening test, revealed that the majority of the studied patients were below the 5th percentile in all sub items of both tests. This indicates that cochlear implanted children have reading problems. There is positive correlation between most of subitems of both tests and chronological age of children. Conclusion and recommendation Cochlear implanted children had poor scores in phonological awareness test and Arabic reading screening test, their reading abilities were extremely impaired. Chronological age may be considered a factor that affects this relation. This higher susceptibility to reading problems as well as the importance of reading for their academic careers should be considered in their rehabilitation plan.

Development of an Arabic test for assessment of semantics for the Arabic-speaking children: the Arabic semantic test

BackgroundSemantics is the study of meaning, and it pertains to the meanings of linguistic expressions such as words, phrases, grammatical forms, and sentences. Studying semantic development for preschool children has several applications in research design, assessment, and intervention. In English and most Indo-European languages, there is a long tradition of examining aspects of child language by computing different developmental indices from spontaneous language samples and by applying different language tests. However, for the Arabic language, these aspects are lacking in this valuable area of research. Thus, this study aimed to develop and standardize a comprehensive test for assessing semantic language development suitable for preschool children in Arabic-speaking countries. The constructed Arabic semantic test (AST) was administered to 120 typically developed Egyptian Arabic-speaking children between the ages of 2 to ≤ 4 years divided into 4 age groups, with a 6-month age interval between each group. Children’s responses were statistically analyzed to assess the test’s validity and reliability. Ranks of percentiles were calculated to describe the semantic language development in preschool Egyptian Arabic-speaking children.ResultsA statistically significant difference was found over the scores of the Arabic semantic test in both receptive and expressive aspects of semantics among the 4 participating age groups. Semantic growth was positively correlated to the chronological age of the participating children, with good validity and reliability of the test.ConclusionsThe Arabic semantic test is a valid and reliable test that can be applied to assess semantic development among preschool Arabic-speaking children.

Developing an arabic questionnaire to assess sensory processing disorders among preschool Egyptian children

BackgroundSensory processing disorder (SPD) is a neurophysiologic disorder in which sensory input is poorly detected, modulated, interpreted and/or to which atypical responses occur. The objective of this study was to validate an Arabic questionnaire for identification of SPD among preschool Arabic-speaking children with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) and Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). MethodsA newly constructed Arabic questionnaire for assessment of SPD was completed by parents of 100 Egyptian Arabic-speaking children including 40 typically-developing children (control group), 30 children with ASD, and 30 children with ADHD in the age range 3–6 years Results and conclusionSensory processing differences were detected between typically-developing children and children with ASD and ADHD. Significant differences were found in auditory processing, visual processing, oral sensory processing, olfactory processing, total scores and emotional/social response. The current study revealed non-significant differences between ASD and ADHD children as regards auditory, visual, touch, oral sensory, olfactory and total processing scores. On the other hand, ASD children showed higher scores in proprioceptive processing and lower scores in emotional/social response than children with ADHD. The designed Arabic questionnaire is a valid and reliable assessment tool for identification of SPD in preschool Arabic-speaking children.

Acoustic characteristics of voice and speech in Arabic-speaking stuttering children

BackgroundUsing different methodologies, several researchers have reported certain acoustical and physiological differences between fluent utterances of stutterers and normally fluent speakers. The aim of this study was to determine acoustic characteristics of voice and speech in Arabic-speaking stuttering children in comparison to normal children and correlate these characteristics with stuttering severity. A sample of 80 Arabic-speaking Egyptian children (including 40 typically developing children and 40 stuttering children) in the age range 5–8 years were subjected to acoustic analysis of voice and speech using the Praat software.ResultsThe stuttering children showed significantly higher values of jitter and shimmer in prolonged /a/ vowel sample, as compared to the normal group. This may reflect the subtle differences in laryngeal functioning or in the complex interaction among the laryngeal, respiratory, and the vocal tract systems in stuttering children. Both jitter and shimmer of prolonged /a/ vowel demonstrated significant positive moderate correlation with stuttering severity as assessed by SSI3. F0 was significantly higher in females than in males, both in normal and stuttering children.ConclusionsThe present study revealed significant differences in the acoustic parameters of voice and speech between Arabic-speaking stuttering children and normal children. Some of these acoustic parameters were significantly correlated with stuttering severity. Acoustic analysis can be used as simple, quick, and cheap tool for assessment of stuttering in children and might be a valuable addition to the diagnostic set for assessment of stuttering severity.

The Impact of the Age at the Cochlear Implantation on the Pragmatic Development of the Prelingual Hearing Impaired Egyptian Arabic Speaking Children

Abstract Background Hearing impaired children have delayed development of pragmatic skills as hearing impairment (HI) deprives them from exposure to natural communication interactions. The rehabilitation of children with HI aims to improve their listening skills for better language development and better communication and social interactions. Aim of this work to compare the pragmatic language development of the prelingual hearing impaired children who were cochlearly implanted before the age of 3 years and those who were cochlearly implanted after the age of 3 years. Methods Sixty Egyptian Arabic-speaking children with prelingual severe to profound sensory neural hearing loss, thirty children who were cochlearly implanted before the age of 3.0 years compared to thirty children who were cochlearly implanted after the age of 3.0 years. Language assessment was done by Modified Preschool Language Scale – 4th edition (PLS–4), the Arabic version and pragmatic development was assessed by Standardized Egyptian Arabic Pragmatic Language Test (EAPLT). Results The two study groups showed no significant differences regarding the receptive, expressive, and total language test scores by PLS-4. Group I showed a significant difference (improvement) regarding the pragmatic factors while there were no significant differences between the two study groups regarding the rest of the pragmatics scores by EAPLT. Conclusion The pragmatic language of cochlearly implanted children either who have been implanted before or after 3 years old is affected. This higher susceptibility to pragmatic impairment in prelingual cochlearly implanted children, as well as the importance of pragmatic skills for further social-communicative and academic careers, should be considered in their rehabilitative plan and advocate the importance for early incorporation of pragmatic behaviors into their intervention programs.

Psycho-communicative interruptions in hearing-impaired Egyptian Arabic-speaking children

BackgroundHearing is critical for normal development and acquisition of language and speech, and hearing impairment exists when there is diminished sensitivity to the sounds normally heard. Several studies have suggested that one out of every two to three school-aged children with any degree of hearing impairment have academic, social, and behavioral difficulties. Purpose: to compare the degree of hearing loss regarding the psychological profile: behavioral, social, emotional, and cognition of hearing-impaired children, and then correlate this profile to language scale.ResultsHearing-impaired children showed more language, emotion, and behavioral difficulties and spent less time communicating than children with normal hearing. The lowest academic, social, and behavioral scores were in severe hearing-impaired group than in the other two groups.ConclusionEven slight/mild hearing impairment can result in negative consequences in the psychological profile, behavioral, social, and emotional, and there is significant relationship between delayed language, anxiety, and child behavior problems. Without appropriate interventions, these children are at risk of developing mental health disorders.

Descriptive analysis of the development of the Arabic speech sounds among typically developing colloquial Egyptian Arabic-speaking children

BackgroundLiterature only mentioned a few kinds of research that did study the development of the speech sounds of the Colloquial Egyptian Arabic dialect. Moreover, these studies focused on describing the phonological processes that children undergo in early childhood rather than describing the exact time of acquisition of these sounds. Besides, no study involved a statistically enough sample size of children across the different age ranges. Thus, this study aimed to explore the development of the Arabic phonemes among 360 typically developing Egyptian children who speak the CEA dialect, between the ages of 1.6 years and ≤ 7.4 years.ResultsThe results of a 93-picture-naming test of children were analyzed. A phoneme is considered acquired when 90% of the children could properly utter the target phoneme in all word positions and mastered when 100% of children could correctly pronounce the target phoneme in all word positions. The results revealed that by the age of 1.6–2.0 years, the 6 long vowels of the CEA dialect, besides the /h/,/ʔ/, /b/, /w/, /j/, /m/, and /n/ were mastered. /t/ and /d/ sounds were mastered by the age of 2.6 years followed by /l/ sound by the age of 3.0 years. Then, /ħ/, /ʕ/ sounds were mastered followed by /k/, and /g/ at the age of 3.0 and 3.6 years, respectively. At the age of 5.0 years, /f/ sound was mastered, then /x / and /ʃ/ sounds were mastered by the age of 4.6 years, followed by /s/, /sˁ/, /tˁ/, /dˁ/. By the age of 5.6 and 6.0 years, /ɣ/, /r/, and /z/ were mastered. The /q/, /θ/, /ð/, and /ðˁ/ sounds were mastered by the age of 6.0–6.6 years. This study revealed that fricative sounds developed before the stop sounds and front stops before the back stops, and emphatic Arabic sounds were the last to develop at the school age (> 5 years).ConclusionsThis study presented a chart of the development of the Arabic phonemes of the CEA to be used as a guide to decide upon the correct trimming to start articulatory therapy for children with articulation and/or phonological disorders.

Validation of an Arabic listening inventory for the Education of Deaf Children in Egypt

ABSTRACT The academic achievement of deaf and hard-of-hearing (DHH) students depends on the interaction of many factors, including student and family characteristics and experiences inside and outside school. Several questionnaires have previously been designed for evaluating the listening skills of deaf English-speaking children in school environments. This study's objective was to validate an Arabic questionnaire to evaluate deaf Egyptian Arabic-speaking children's listening skills. The Arabic questionnaire for listening skills in the school environment was adapted by translating items from an English questionnaire into Arabic. The questionnaire was administered to 70 Arabic-speaking Egyptian children 7–12 years, including 30 children with typical hearing, 30 deaf children fitted with hearing aids, and ten deaf children with cochlear implants. Typical hearing children demonstrated the best performance with a non-significant difference between children who use cochlear implants and hearing aids. The degree of hearing loss and language therapy duration were the best predictors of deaf Egyptian children's listening skills. The adapted Arabic questionnaire is a valid and reliable functional assessment tool that can be used to evaluate and monitor Arabic-speaking deaf students’ listening skills in the school environment.

DEVELOPMENT OF LEXICAL SEMANTIC AMONG PRESCHOOL EGYPTIAN ARABIC-SPEAKING CHILDREN

Background: Lexical-semantic development for preschool children has several applications in research design, assessment, and intervention that were very difficult to obtain before. In English and most Indo-European languages, there is a long tradition of examining aspects of child language by computing different developmental indices from spontaneous language samples and through applying different language tests. However, for the Arabic language, these aspects are lacking in this valuable area of research. Bridging this gap, this work provided the first comprehensive study of the Arabic language lexical-semantic development among preschool Egyptian Arabic speaking children.Aim of the work: to provide a descriptive profile of the lexical-semantic development among the preschool Egyptian Arabic-speaking children.Subjects and methods: This is a descriptive cross-sectional study conducted on 120 typically developed Egyptian Arabic-speaking children. Children were randomly selected by inclusion and exclusion criteria in the age range between 2-4 years. Children were assessed by the lexical-semantic subtest of the standardized Egyptian Arabic Semantic Test (EAST). Children’s total score and scores of the receptive and expressive aspects of the lexical-semantic subtest of EAST were calculated and compared to determine the development of the lexical-semantic among the 4 age-groups.Results: A statistically significant difference was found between lexical-semantic growth among the 4 age groups. Lexical semantic growth is positively correlated to the chronological age of the participated children.Conclusion: The lexical-semantic develops as early as the age of 2 years. Noun classes and verbs started to be identified by children at the age of 2 years. As children grow; noun vocabulary increases both expressively and receptively. Adjectives started to be acquired at age of 2.6 to 3 years and were mostly identified by the age of 3 to 3.6 years.

Development of a test for assessment of the lipreading ability for children in the Arabic-speaking countries

BackgroundLipreading is considered an important skill that varies considerably among normal-hearing (NH) and hearing-impaired (HI) children. It is well known that normal-hearing children use audition as the primary sensory modality for speech perception, whereas HI children use lipreading cues as the primary sensory modality for speech perception. Moreover, speech perception is a multisensory process that involves attention to auditory signals as well as visual articulatory movements, and the integration of auditory and visual signals occurs naturally and automatically in normal individuals of all ages. Most researches proved that lipreading is a natural and important skill needed for language acquisition in HI children. Lipreading also helps HI children to perceive speech, acquire spoken language, and acquire phonology. In the Arabic language, tools are deficient for assessing the lipreading ability for HI children, so this study was conducted to develop a test suitable for assessing the lipreading ability of hearing-impaired children among Arabic-speaking countries. The constructed lipreading test was administered to 160 Arabic-speaking Egyptian children including 100 typically developing NH children and 60 HI children. Participants’ responses were statistically analyzed to assess the validity and reliability and to compare the lipreading ability between the NH and HI children. Ranks of percentiles were established to provide an estimate of the lipreading ability in children.ResultsStatistically significant differences were found between the normal-hearing and HI children as regards all subtotal and total scores of the Arabic lipreading test, with good validity and reliability of the test.ConclusionsThe Arabic lipreading test is a valid and reliable test that can be applied to assess the lipreading ability among Arabic-speaking children with HI.

Developing a test battery for diagnosis of childhood apraxia of speech in Arabic speakers

BackgroundChildhood apraxia of speech (CAS) is a speech sound disorder in which the precision and consistency of movements underlying speech are impaired in absence of neuromuscular deficits. It is important to differentiate between language disorders and CAS to avoid misdiagnosis. The objective of this study was to develop a test battery for CAS in order to identify its possible presence in Arabic-speaking children, thus allowing the planning of appropriate therapy programs. The constructed test battery for CAS was administered to 70 monolingual Arabic-speaking Egyptian children including 10 children with suspected CAS, 20 children with phonological disorders, and 40 typically developing children. Participants’ responses were statistically analyzed to assess the validity and reliability, and to evaluate sensitivity and specificity of the test battery.ResultsStatistically significant differences were found between the three groups as regard all subtotal and total scores of CAS test battery with good validity and reliability of the test.ConclusionsThe constructed test battery for diagnosis of CAS is a reliable, valid, and sensitive tool that can be used to detect the presence of CAS in Arabic-speaking children and differentiate between it and phonological disorders.

Assessment of Auditory Processing Skills in Egyptian Arabic Speaking Children with Specific Language Impairment: An Integrated Approach

Abstract Background: Central auditory processing disorder has been receiving a growing amount of attention because of the possible link between auditory processing disorders and learning disabilities in general and specific language impair-ment in particular. To date, there is limited research directly investigating the overlap in symptoms observed among children with central auditory processing disorder and children with specific language impairment. Aim of Study: To compare central auditory processing skills and language assessment scores in a group of Arabic speaking children having Specific Language Impairment in order to reach a better understanding of the relationship between both disorders. Patients and Methods: This study is conducted on 60 Arabic speaking children whom ages range from 5 to 8 years, divided into 2 equal groups; cases and controls. All children were subjected to a multi-disciplinary battery of assessments. The battery combined language assessment, cognitive assess-ment, series of auditory processing tasks and finally a parent rated questionnaire. Results: Out of the 30 children diagnosed with specific language impairment, 27 showed significantly lower scores in all the 4 central auditory processing tests than that in the control group, however, all cases showed positive results in at least 3 of the tests. Conclusion: Children with specific language impairment in the current study proved to have auditory processing deficits. Results of the study come to confirm the expected assumption that central auditory processing disorder coexists with Specific language impairment.

The Relationship between Phonological Processing and Emergent Literacy Skills in Arabic-Speaking Kindergarten Children

Introduction: Children with weak emergent literacy skills are at risk for later reading problems. The majority of research on the relationship between phonological processing and emergent literacy has been conducted on children who speak English and European languages. The aim of the current study was to address the relationship between phonological processing and emergent literacy skills in Arabic-speaking Egyptian children. Methods: A cross-sectional correlational study was conducted on a sample of 50 typically developing kindergarten children in the age range from 4 years 6 months to 6 years 5 months. Children were subjected to assessment of both phonological processing and emergent literacy using a specially constructed test battery in Arabic. Results: A highly significant positive correlation was found between total scores of phonological processing and of emergent literacy tests. Both isolating final phonemes and rapid naming were the best predictors of emergent literacy. Conclusions: Phonological processing skills are important prerequisites for the development of emergent literacy skills in Arabic-speaking children. The designed test battery proved to be both valid and reliable and can be used as a screening tool for the identification of children at risk of later reading problems.

Developing a functional assessment tool for the auditory performance of Arabic-speaking Egyptian hearing impaired children

BackgroundAuditory performance outcome of children with hearing impairment has been widely studied, and the related factors of the performance have been explored among different age groups for English speaking hearing impaired children. ObjectivesThe objective of this study was to construct Arabic questionnaires for the evaluation of the auditory abilities of hearing impaired Egyptian Arabic-speaking children. MethodsThree Arabic questionnaires targeting the auditory abilities were constructed by selecting items from different English-based questionnaires and translating them into Arabic and adapted to Egyptian culture. The questionnaires were administered to 210 Arabic-speaking Egyptian children in the age range 1–12 years who were divided into three age groups. They included 90 hearing impaired children fitted with hearing aids and 30 hearing impaired children with a cochlear implant and 90 children with normal hearing (as a control group). Participants' responses were statistically analyzed to assess the validity and reliability of the questionnaires and to compare hearing impaired children with normal hearing children. ResultsThere were non-significant differences between cochlear implanted children and children with hearing aids regarding auditory abilities performances. Language age and aided pure tone audiometry were considered the best predictors of auditory abilities of hearing impaired Egyptian children. ConclusionThe constructed Arabic questionnaires proved to be reliable and valid functional assessment tools that provide information about auditory behaviors of hearing impaired Egyptian children in everyday life and would complement other objective test results in evaluating and monitoring the performance of these children.

Brain-derived neurotrophic factor and coenzyme Q10 levels in blood of children with learning disorder

Background Learning disorder (LD) is manifested by significant difficulties in the acquisition and use of reasoning, reading, writing, or mathematical abilities, despite average intelligence and proper education. Its etiological factors were suggested to be related to neurodevelopmental alterations. Measurement of the levels of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) and coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10) was targeted in children with LD in comparison with typically developing (TD) ones. Materials and methods This study included 82 Egyptian Arabic-speaking children matched for age and sex and socioeconomic status, comprising 42 with specific LD (group I) and 40 TD children (group II). All participants were subjected to clinical and full neurological examination after reporting a full medical history. Furthermore, LD group was subjected to Stanford–Binet intelligence scale, dyslexia assessment test, and phonological awareness test, which evaluates cognitive and learning aptitudes. The levels of BDNF and CoQ10 were determined in serum by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Results All children with LD obtained a score of 1 or more as at-risk quotient by the dyslexia assessment test, which indicated a specific reading disorder. The BDNF and CoQ10 levels in the LD group were significantly less than those in the TD group. No correlations were found between the measured markers and each other or between them and the measured factors of the used tests. Conclusion The detected low levels of BDNF and CoQ10 in children with specific LD with impairment in reading would be suspected to be related to etiological or exaggerating factors for the deficits in such children.

Identification of phonological processes in Arabic–speaking Egyptian children by single-word test

PurposePhonological processes are systematic changes in sound classes, sound sequences or syllable structure. The aim of this study was to develop an assessment tool for identification of developmental phonological processes in Arabic-speaking Egyptian children in order to provide normative data of phonological processes in typically developing children and distinguish between normal children and children with phonological impairment. MethodThe study design was a cross-sectional descriptive one. Mansoura Arabic Test for Phonological Processes (MATPP) was developed to elicit children’s single–word productions through picture naming task. After being pilot-tested, the MATPP was presented to a group of 120 typically developing children in the age range 2–5 years and another group of 30 children with developmental language disorder (DLD) in the age range 2½ - 5years for test validation. ResultsAssimilation processes were the commonest phonological processes followed by syllable structure processes and substitution processes. In contrast to English language, prevocalic devoicing, backing of fricatives and glottal replacement were considered normal for Egyptian children. The face validity was demonstrated by judging all words of the MATPP for being completely relevant to the purpose for which it was meant and Criterion -related validity was demonstrated by higher scores of the DLD children in all phonological processes. MATPP presented test-retest reliability when re-administered by the same examiner or a different examiner to the same child within a two week interval. ConclusionMATPP is a valid and reliable assessment tool for identification of phonological processes in Arabic-speaking Egyptian children and can differentiate typically developing children from those with a phonological impairment.

Development and Standardization of a Test for Pragmatic Language Skills in Egyptian Arabic: The Egyptian Arabic Pragmatic Language Test (EAPLT)

Objective: The aim of this study was to standardize an Egyptian Arabic Pragmatic Language Test (EAPLT) using linguistically and socially suitable questions and pictures in order to be able to address specific deficits in this language domain. Participants and Methods: Questions and pictures were designed for the EAPLT to assess 3 pragmatic language subsets: pragmatic skills, functions, and factors. Ten expert phoniatricians were asked to review the EAPLT and complete a questionnaire to assess the validity of the test items. The EAPLT was applied in 120 typically developing Arabic-speaking Egyptian children (64 females and 56 males) randomly selected by inclusion and exclusion criteria in the age range between 2 years, 1 month, 1 day and 9 years, 12 months, 31 days. Children’s scores were used to calculate the means and standard deviations and the 5th and 95th percentiles to determine the age of the pragmatic skills acquisition. Results: All experts have mostly agreed that the EAPLT gives a general idea about children’s pragmatic language development. Test-retest reliability analysis proved the high reliability and internal consistency of the EAPLT subsets. A statistically significant correlation was found between the test subsets and age. Conclusion: The EAPLT is a valid and reliable Egyptian Arabic test that can be applied in order to detect a pragmatic language delay.