Everyday Communication in Dysarthria: A Self-Report Questionnaire

The assessment of the impact of motor speech disorders on everyday life becomes increasingly important in the clinical management of patients with dysarthria. Self-report assessments of patients' subjective perspectives on their speech disorder are considered particularly relevant. So far no standardized self-report instrument is available in German-speaking countries. The aim of the present study was to evaluate relevant psychometric properties of a self-report questionnaire [ 1]. To this end, data from a patient sample with different etiologies (n = 142) were evaluated for reliability and validity criteria. As a result, the questionnaire fulfils economic requirements and possesses a high internal consistency and a wide range of item difficulties. A principal component analysis identified 6 factors which reflected components of the ICF [ 2]. The patients' subjective valuation of their intelligibility was consistent with the presumed graduation of intelligibility as a function of a communication partner's familiarity with the patient. As a conclusion, this questionnaire meets important psychometric requirements and can be considered suitable for clinical use.