Translation, Validity, and Reliability of the Persian Version of the Fisher Auditory Problems Checklist

Introduction: In 1996, American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA) introduced the need for an appropriate screening tool for Auditory Processing Disorder (APD). Questionnaires are one of the tools to screen APD, of which the most frequent one is the Fisher auditory checklist. The current study aimed at translating and determining the validity and reliability of the Persian version of the Fisher checklist. Materials and Methods: The current checklist developing study was conducted on 25 children (12 males and 13 females) aged 8 to 12 years (Mean±SD=9.4±1. 3) with APD as the case group, and 25 normal children (14 males and 11 females) aged 8 to 12 years (Mean±SD=9.5±1.4) as the control group. The translation process was performed according to international guidelines. Indicators of formal validity, test-retest reliability, and internal consistency of the questionnaire were assessed. Then, to check the effectiveness of the questionnaire to identify children with APD and normal children, the checklist was examined along with paired Dichotic Digit Test (DDT) and Word in Noise Tests (WNT). Results: The average score of the Persian version of the Fisher checklist was 46.6±16.7 in the case group and 94.7±12.5 in the control group. The Cronbach’s alpha for the Fisher checklist at the test stage was 0.827 and in the retest stage, the Cronbach’s alpha in the patient group was 0.845 and in the control group was 0.709. The Intraclass Correlation Coefficient (ICC) values in the case and control groups were 0.708 and 0.744, respectively. Conclusion: According to the results of DDT and WNT, the Persian version of the Fisher checklist had face validity (face value: 3.4) and intrinsic reliability of APD detection.