FAST!
Giulia Carlotta Guerra, Maria Teresa Positano, Michela Ciabattoni, Paola Cerratti, Valeria D’Aloia, Odette Nardozza, Giuditta Smith, Alberto Di Domenico, Mirco Fasolo, Maria Garraffa
Language delay is a common reason for clinical consultation, occurring in approximately 10-15% of children; early identification allows access to interventions that maximise developmental outcomes. The Phrase Repetition Test (PRF) and the CLAD-ITA GAPS are valid and reliable screening instruments, but their characteristics do not allow the assessment of phonological and morphosyntactic skills in children between 3 and 5 years of age. Therefore, «FAST!», a repetition test made of sentences rather than words, was developed to assess phonological and morphosyntactic skills. The FAST!, PRF and CLADITA GAPS tests were administered to 938 children aged 3 to 5 years, recruited from preschools in Abruzzo. The tests were administered individually (experimenter - child) and audio-recorded. The results show that the FAST! test discriminates different age groups, identifying significant differences between 3-, 4- and 5-year-old children. The rapid administration of «FAST!» allows the identification of predictors of language delay and early intervention to prevent the onset of a cascading effect on the child’s linguistic and socio-affective development.
Keywords
Language, Screening, Phonology, Morphosyntax, Preschool.
