Browsing by Author "Duwadi, Sabin Sharma"
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Publication Polysyllabic Word Productions as a Screening Tool for Speech Sound Disorders in Native Nepali-Speaking Children: A Pilot Study(Society of Otolaryngologists of Nepal, 2025) Duwadi, Sabin Sharma; Sreedevi, NAbstract: Aims and Objectives: Speech sound disorders (SSD) affect children’s communication, learning, and social participation, yet culturally adapted screeners are scarce in Nepal. Polysyllabic words (≥3 syllables) place higher demands on speech planning and phonotactics, making them useful for detecting SSD. This study aimed to develop and pilot a brief Nepali polysyllable screener for three to five years, preschool children. Methods: A cross-sectional, known-groups validation design was employed. Twenty native Nepali-speaking children out of whom 10 were SSD and 10 were typically developing (TD) were matched for age and sex. They were assessed using a 10-item picturable polysyllable word list. Responses were audio-recorded, scored dichotomously, and analyzed for group differences, internal consistency, and diagnostic accuracy. Results: TD children obtained significantly higher scores (mean score=9.1) than SSD peers (mean scoe = 5.2), with a large effect size (Cohen’s d = 3.5). Item-level analyses showed adequate discrimination (corrected item–total correlations 0.41–0.74). Internal consistency was good (KR-20 = 0.82). Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis demonstrated excellent diagnostic accuracy (AUC = 0.94, 95% CI 0.83–1.00). An optimal cutoff of ≤7 yielded sensitivity of 0.90 and specificity of 0.95. Conclusion: The Nepali 10-item polysyllable screener reliably distinguished SSD from TD speech in preschool children. Although limited by small sample size, findings highlight its potential as a clinically valid, rapid triage tool for early identification of SSD in Nepalese schools and clinics.Publication Whole Word Phonological Measures in Typically Developing Native Nepali Speaking Children: A Cross-sectional Comparative Study(Society of Otolaryngologists of Nepal, 2024) Duwadi, Sabin Sharma; Sreedevi, N SreedeviAbstract: Aims and Objectives: To establish preliminary normative reference data for Phonological Mean Length of Utterance, Proportion of Word Proximity, and Percentage of Words Correct in native Nepali-speaking children aged 2 to 3 years and examine developmental differences between age groups. Methods: Twenty-four typically developing children (12 males, 12 females) were recruited from a Kathmandu preschool, divided into two groups ≥2.0 to <2.6 years (n=12) and ≥2.6 to <3.0 years (n=12). Participants completed a picture-naming task using 50 familiar stimuli. Speech samples were audio-recorded and phonetically transcribed. Phonological Mean Length of Utterance, Proportion of Word Proximity, and Percentage of Words Correct were calculated following established protocols. Results: Significant age-related improvements were observed across all whole-word phonological measures. Children aged 2.5–3.0 years demonstrated higher Phonological Mean Length of Utterance, Proportion of Word Proximity, and Percentage of Words Correct scores than those aged 2.0–2.5 years (p < 0.05). Strong positive correlations were found between chronological age and Phonological Mean Length of Utterance (r = 0.76) and Percentage of Words Correct (r = 0.79), while Proportion of Word Proximity showed a moderate positive correlation (r = 0.58). These findings indicate progressive improvement in phonological complexity and accuracy with age in Nepali-speaking children. Conclusion: Results demonstrated developmental progression in phonological complexity and accuracy between 2 and 3 years in Nepali-speaking children. These preliminary normative reference values provided valuable reference data for clinical assessment and research in this understudied population. Keywords: Nepali language, phonological development, speech assessment, whole-word measures, phonological mean length of utterance, percentage of words correct, proportion of whole-word proximity