Measuring communicative style in parents of infants with suspected neurodevelopmental disorders: Reliability test and adaptation of the RAACS instrument

Abstract

Introduction

The Responsive Augmentative and Alternative Communication Style Scale, version 3 (RAACS 3) has been used when assessing communicative style in parents of children with communicative disabilities between 12 and 60 months of age and it has demonstrated validity and reliability. The aim of this study was to investigate the reliability of RAACS when applied to video-recorded communication between parents and their infants (aged four to 12 months) with suspected neurodevelopmental disorders, and, if needed, adapt, and retest the instrument.

Method

Four speech language pathologists performed a three-phase reliability procedure using twenty-six audio-video recordings of interactions between parents and infants. Inter- and intrarater agreement was calculated. In phase I the original instrument RAACS 3 was used, on twenty recordings. In phase II the instrument was adapted to better suit the target group (parents of infants aged four to 12 months) and was called RAACS 4. In phase III RAACS 4 was pilot tested on six new audio-video recordings. This phase also included two joint ratings and a consensus discussion between the raters preceding the rating procedure.

Results

The testing during phase I showed low reliability rates of RAACS 3 independent of statistical test method. The pilot testing that was done during phase III showed that the adapted version, RAACS 4, had higher reliability rates.

Conclusions

RAACS 3 was not reliable for assessment of communicative style in parents of infants. RAACS 4 showed promising results when assessing communicative style of parents of infants with neurodevelopmental delays. Further reliability and validity investigation is needed.