Validation of the Focus on the Outcomes of Communication under Six outcome measure

Aim The aim of this study was to establish the construct validity of the F ocus on the O utcomes of C ommunication U nder S ix ( FOCUS © ),a tool designed to measure changes in communication skills in preschool children. Method Participating families' children ( n =97; 68 males, 29 females; mean age 2y 8mo; SD 1.04y, range 10mo–4y 11mo) were recruited through eight C anadian organizations. The children were on a waiting list for speech and language intervention. Parents completed the A ges and S tages Q uestionnaire – S ocial/ E motional ( ASQ ‐ SE ) and the FOCUS three times: at assessment and at the start and end of treatment. A second sample ( n =28; 16 males 12 females) was recruited from another organization to correlate the FOCUS scores with speech, intelligibility and language measures. Second sample participants ranged in age from 3 years 1 month to 4 years 9 months (mean 3y 11mo; SD 0.41y). At the start and end of treatment, children were videotaped to obtain speech and language samples. Parents and speech–language pathologists ( SLP s) independently completed the FOCUS tool. SLP s who were blind to the pre/post order of the videotapes analysed the samples. Results The FOCUS measured significantly more change ( p <0.01) during treatment than during the waiting list period. It demonstrated both convergent and discriminant validity against the ASQ ‐ SE . The FOCUS change corresponded to change measured by a combination of clinical speech and language measures (κ=0.31, p <0.05). Conclusion The FOCUS shows strong construct validity as a change‐detecting instrument.