Adaptation and Validation of Overall Assessment of the Speaker's Experience of Stuttering for Adults in Kannada (OASES-A-K).

Introduction: Psychosocial aspects of stuttering may affect the quality of life of a person who stutters (PWS). Further, the social stigma and experiences of PWS may vary globally. The WHO-ICF guidelines recommend quality of life as an essential component in the assessment of individuals who stutter. However, the availability of linguistically and culturally appropriate tools is often a challenge. Thus, the current study adapted and validated the OASES-A for Kannada-speaking adults who stutter.

Method: The original English version of OASES-A was adapted to Kannada using a standard reverse translation process. The adapted version was administered on 51 Kannada-speaking adults with very mild to very severe stuttering. The data were analyzed for item characteristics, reliability, and validity assessment.

Results: The results revealed floor and ceiling effects for six and two items, respectively. The mean overall impact score indicated a moderate impact of stuttering. Further, the impact score for section II was relatively higher when compared to the data from other countries. The reliability and validity analyses showed good internal consistency and test-retest reliability for OASES-A-K.

Conclusion: The findings of the current research suggest that OASES-A-K is a sensitive and reliable tool to assess the impact of stuttering in Kannada-speaking PWS. The findings also highlight cross-cultural differences and the need for research in this direction.