Speech-language pathologists’ perspectives on a prototype of the first Ghanaian-English speech and language assessment tool

Purpose: Speech-language pathologists need culturally and linguistically appropriate assessment tools to accurately identify speech and language disorders. Ghanaian speech-language pathologists currently lack appropriate assessment tools to identify both speech and language disorders in children. The aim of this study was to gather the views and perspectives of Ghanaian speech-language pathologists about a prototype of the first Ghanaian-English speech and language assessment tool for school-aged children. Method: Data were collected via artefact-mediated face-to-face focus groups utilising a prototype Ghanaian-English assessment tool to evoke comments from eleven Ghanaian speech-language pathologists. The tool consists of a caregiver’s questionnaire and six subtests that assess the speech and language of children aged 5 to 10 years. Participants were recruited from a range of contexts in Ghana and were all involved in the assessment of children. The data were analysed using inductive content analysis. Result: Speech-language pathologists identified strengths of the tool and recommendations for change. Participants viewed the tool as comprehensive, innovative, and simple to administer. Participants emphasised the need for the test administration, caregiver’s questionnaire, pictures, and test items or stimuli to be culturally appropriate and made suggestions for change. Conclusion: This study contributes to the development of a culturally appropriate assessment tool for the Ghanaian context. This adds to the growing body of research on the need and process for the development of culturally appropriate assessment tools for children in multilingual contexts.