2025 Early Hearing Detection & Intervention Conference
March 9-11, 2025 • Pittsburgh, PA
DAVID L. LAWRENCE CONVENTION CENTER
| Readability of Online Early Intervention Materials for Families that use Spoken Spanish
Readability of Online Early Intervention Materials for Families that use Spoken Spanish
Access to information on early intervention services is critical for families of children who are D/deaf and hard of hearing (JCIH, 2019). This presentation will cover how accessibility to information may be limited for families and discuss why this is of a critical concern for families using Spanish. To look at accessibility of educational materials online, six search terms were selected to identify educational materials for review using the Google search engine. The search terms in English were “early intervention hearing spanish” and “early intervention deaf spanish.” The search terms in Spanish, were “intervención temprana audición” and “intervención temprana sordos.” These terms were selected in collaboration with a blingual research assistant. Ninety-one unique websites were included for readability analysis (43 written in English and 48 written in Spanish). Readability was assessed for English materials using Flesh-Kincaid Grade Level (FKGL; mean=12.83, sd=2.737) and Flesh-Kincaid Ease of Reading Score (FKERS; mean=35.602, sd=15.651). FKGL scores were consistent with prior work (Woodruff & Cienkowski, 2022). For materials written in Spanish readability was assessed using the Fernandez Huerta Index (FHI, mean=56.157, sd=9.44634). Using the FKERS and FHI allowed for comparisons since both use 100-point scales from easiest (100) to hardest (0) to read (mean=46.44, sd=16.35; Alabama Department of Public Health, nd). A comparison of FKERS and FHI found that English and Spanish materials were challenging to read (<50; secondary or post-secondary education required to understand) and scores
exceeded recommended guidelines (>80, 6th grade education required to understand). Further, materials written in English were significantly more difficult to read (p<.05) than those in Spanish. The implications of inaccessible information will be paired with statistics on early intervention access to support viewers in identifying actionable steps to address this concern.
- Define common measures of readability in English (FKGL and FRES) and Spanish (FHI)
- Analyze the readability scores across different written languages
- Describe the impacts of online materials accessibility across language modes
Presentation:
3545975_18138Torri AnnWoodruff-Gautherin.pdf
Handouts:
3545975_18138Torri AnnWoodruff-Gautherin.pdf
Transcripts:
CART transcripts are NOT YET available, but will be posted shortly after the conference
Presenters/Authors
Torri Ann Woodruff-Gautherin
(Primary Presenter,Author), University of Connecticut, torri.woodruff@uconn.edu;
Torri Ann Woodruff-Gautherin, PhD is a Research Scientist in the HELLO Lab of Dr. Derek Houston at UCONN. Passionate about bolstering the voices of stakeholders, Torri Ann implements qualitative methods to highlight the power and value of individual voices in making change. Torri Ann is interested in the intersection of public health, early intervention, and family support.
ASHA DISCLOSURE:
Financial -
• Receives Grants for Other activities from EAA.
• Receives Salary,Grants for Employment,Other activities from UConn.
Nonfinancial -
• Has a Professional
(Co Chair)
relationship for Board membership.
• Has a Professional
(Board memeber)
relationship for Board membership.
AAA DISCLOSURE:
Financial -
Financial relationship with UConn
EAA
NIH
CT EHDI Taskforce
CT Hands & Voices.
Nature: UConn - employee and a grant on this topic
EAA - grant for related work
NIH - employed on grant
CT EHDI Taskforce - co-chair
CT Hands & Voices - board memeber.
Nonfinancial -
No relevant nonfinancial relationship exists.