Paediatric automatic phonological analysis tools (APAT)

Abstract

Purpose: To develop the pediatric Automatic Phonological Analysis Tools (APAT) and to estimate inter and intrajudge reliability, content validity, and concurrent validity. Method: The APAT were constructed using Excel spreadsheets with formulas. The tools were presented to an expert panel for content validation. The corpus used in the Portuguese standardized test Teste Fon etico-Fonol ogico – ALPE produced by 24 children with phonological delay or phonological disorder was recorded, transcribed, and then inserted into the APAT. Reliability and validity of APAT were analyzed. Results: The APAT present strong inter- and intrajudge reliability (>97%). The content validity was also analyzed (ICC¼0.71), and concurrent validity revealed strong correlations between computerized and manual (traditional) methods. Conclusions: The development of these tools contributes to fill existing gaps in clinical practice and research, since previously there were no valid and reliable tools/instruments for automatic phonological analysis, which allowed the analysis of different corpora.