Identifier

etd-04132014-133958

Degree

Master of Arts (MA)

Department

Communication Sciences and Disorders

Document Type

Thesis

Abstract

The IT-MAIS is a caregiver-report tool used to assess a child’s functional auditory development pre- and post-implantation (Zimmerman-Phillips, et al., 2001) and as a measure of functional auditory behaviors in studies exploring cochlear implant (CI) candidacy (Barker, Kenworthy, & Walker, 2011; Franz 2002; Osberger, Zimmerman-Phillips, & Koch, 2002). However it lacks psychometric analysis of its overall reliability and validity, which are essential in determining the strength of the IT-MAIS’ conclusions in determining the direction of a child’s clinical intervention outcomes. Barker, Donovan, Schubert, and Walker (2013) showed in their longitudinal study that caregivers did not predictably respond to items from the IT-MAIS. These unpredictable caregiver responses to the tool’s items lower the report’s caregiver reliability. We predicted that videos for each IT-MAIS item could accurately depict the assessment’s targeted auditory behaviors if both rater groups found the same videos to be most representative of each IT-MAIS item. In Study 1 we generated 6 video scenarios and had 10 pediatric audiologists rate the video scenarios for each IT-MAIS item using a 7-point Likert scale. Results from Study 1 showed that pediatric audiologists found two scenarios for each IT-MAIS item that differed only by their point of view. Then the results from Study 1 and were filmed the 2 top-rated video scenarios for each IT-MAIS item. In Study 2, 5 different pediatric audiologists determined whether each video accurately depicted its corresponding IT-MAIS item. In Study 3, 20 caregivers rated how representative each video was of its corresponding IT-MAIS item using a 7-point Likert scale. Results from Studies 2 and 3 showed that the reporting audiologists and caregivers found the same 10 videos to be most representative. Those final videos were found to accurately depict the targeted behavior in each IT-MAIS item, and are the first step in improving the IT-MAIS’ intra-rater reliability. Our future directions suggested the need for these final 10 videos to be used in the IT-MAIS’ clinical administration to determine if they allow more predictable caregiver responses. These videos can be found to improve the IT-MAIS’ intra-rater reliability if caregiver responses become more predictable.

Date

2014

Document Availability at the Time of Submission

Release the entire work immediately for access worldwide.

Committee Chair

Barker, Brittan

DOI

10.31390/gradschool_theses.1451

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