Reliability and validity of the Chinese version of the FOCUS, an outcome measure for preschool children with speech, language and communication disorders

Abstract

Purpose: This study aimed to examine the validity and reliability of the Chinese version of Focus on the Outcomes of Communication Under Six (FOCUS-C; Thomas-Stonell, Oddson, Robertson & Rosenbaum, 2010) in the Hong Kong Chinese population. Method: Eleven children participated in the present study. Their parents, speech therapists were invited to complete FOCUS-C and/or the Chinese version of Assessment of Preschool Children’s Participation in the first treatment session, five days after that, and the last treatment session. Fifty-five percent (6/11) of the children were also observed and rated with FOCUS-C by a student clinician attended. Results: The FOCUS-C showed high inter-rater reliability, strong test-retest reliability and excellent Cronbach’s alpha. The total scores of FOCUS-C and the diversity score of APCP-C demonstrated significant correlation at the end of treatment, but not at the start of treatment. No significant correlation was found between total scores of FOCUS-C and the intensity score of the area of social activities. Parents and speech therapists rarely showed complete agreement when rating FOCUS-C. Conclusion: The small scale study reported here indicates some initial support for the use of FOCUS-C as an outcome measure tool in Hong Kong’s preschool population. Further studies done with a larger and more diverse sample of preschool children are needed to explore the psychometric properties of FOCUS-C.