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Table 4 Adaptation of the INTER-NDA items to the Caribbean context

From: Adaptation of the INTERGROWTH-21st neurodevelopment assessment (INTER-NDA) to the context of the English-speaking Caribbean

     

Adaption meets criteria for:

INTER-NDA item No.

Original INTER-NDA item

Adapted item to the Caribbean context

Rationale for amendment

Justification

Linguistic relevance

Cultural relevance

Conceptual equivalence

1.

Builds a tower of 5 cubes

(Examiner says “Could you build a tower with the cubes?”)

Builds a tower of 5 blocks

(Examiner says “Could you build a tower with the blocks?”)

Colloquialism - ‘Cubes’ replaced by ‘blocks’

Cubes’ are referred to as ‘blocks’ in local vernacular

4.

Hands the examiner one cube when asked to do so.

(Examiner says “Please give me one cube” & keeps palm open for 5 s after child has handed over

1 cube)

Hands the examiner one block when asked to do so.

(Examiner says “Please hand me one block” & keeps palm open for 5 s after child has handed over 1 block)”

Colloquialism - ‘Cubes’ replaced by ‘blocks’; Give me” is changed to “Hand me

In local vernacular, many Grenadians ask others to “hand me” an object, as opposed to “give me” the object

8.

Points correctly when asked “Where is the door/entrance to the room?”

Points correctly when asked “Show me the door/entrance to the room?”

Colloquialism - “Where is” is changed to “Show me

Grenadians are often asked to “show” where an object is located, as opposed to being asked “where” the object is located

   

12.

Able to make a cup of tea with the toy tea set when requested by examiner (Examiner says “Can you make a cup of tea?”)

Able to make a cup of tea with the toy kettle when requested by examiner (Examiner says “Can you make a cup of tea?”)

Cultural context - the tea pot is understood to be a “kettle” by the children.

Many Grenadians substitute a kettle for a teapot, as tea brewing is not a widely familiar practice on the island, especially among low-income families.

14.

Feeds doll when requested to (Examiner says “Can you give the dolly some tea?”)

Feeds doll when requested to (Examiner says “Can you give the dolly some milk?”)

Cultural context - tea is understood to be warm milk or baby formula.

Grenadian children are not familiar with the concept of tea, as the term refers to any hot beverage—not solely tea as the rest of the world knows it. The age group of children tested in the study know “tea” to be warm milk.

20.

Throws a ball very near (Examiner says “Can you throw the ball?”)

Throws a ball very near

(Examiner says “Can you pelt the ball?” or “Pelt the ball for me” or “Send the ball for me”)

Colloquialism - “throw” is changed to “pelt” or “send

When asked using the former phrase, Grenadian children would gently drop the ball in front of them. Children would respond to “pelt the ball” by throwing the ball overhand.

26.

Use of a pronoun e.g. [mine] me, my, she, he, it, I

(Examiner says “Who does this belong to? “Whose is this?”)

Use of a pronoun e.g. [mines] me, my, she, he, it, I

(Examiner says “Who dat/dis for?”)

Colloquialism - “mine” is changed to “mines” and “Whose is this?” changed to “Who dat/dis for?”

Many Grenadians utilize “dat” and/or “dis” in accordance with local vernacular. Additionally, phonetic differences between singular and plural words is not always observed in local Grenadian vernacular.

30.

Combines word and gesture when asked (examples: high-five)

Combines word and gesture when asked (example: bounce)

Change to examples of word-gesture combinations used in the item; (most common gesture is “a bounce” rather than a “high-five” or “flying kiss”)

Grenadian children are more familiar with a “bounce” than a “high five” – the former is a gesture where both individuals make a fist and tap their knuckles together.