Translation and validation of communicative quality of life in the dysarthric speaker questionnaire in telugu

Abstract

Purpose: Several tools are available to assess the quality of life for speech, language, voice, and swallowing disorders in Indian languages. However, limited tools are present to assess the quality of life of dysarthria. So, the present study aims to translate and validate the Quality of Life in the Dysarthric Speaker (QoL-DyS) questionnaire into the Telugu language.Methods: A total of 30 different types of dysarthria and 30 age-matched controls participated in the present study. The QoL-DyS tool was trans-adapted in the Telugu language using a standardized procedure and administered to the participants. The internal consistency, test-retest reliability, construct validity, scale statistics, and item statistics were computed.Results: The present study revealed that the developed tool has good (i.e., 0.81) overall internal consistency and excellent (i.e., 0.92) test-retest reliability. The significant difference (i.e., p<0.05) was found between the experimental and control group.Conclusions: From the present study, we can conclude that the Telugu QOL-DyS is a reliable tool. It is applicable in clinical practice for the self-assessment of the quality of life in dysarthric speakers. Hence, the Telugu QOL-DyS is recommended in clinical practice, and there is a need to develop QoL-DyS in other Indian languages.