Kala Samayan
Biography
Dr. Kala Samayan is a distinguished Professor & HOD in the Department of Audiology & Speech-Language Pathology at SRM Medical College Hospital & Research Centre, SRMIST, Chennai, India. With 22 years of academic and clinical experience, she specializes in teaching, research, and patient care in Audiology and Speech-Language Pathology. A prolific researcher and academic leader, she has published 51 peer-reviewed research papers, authored two ISBN books, and contributed six abstracts and conference proceedings at national and international platforms. She has presented 60 scientific papers and served as an invited speaker and resource person for over 31 national and international CRE programs. Dr. Kala is an RCI-appointed expert member, evaluating institutes for UG and PG program approvals and serving on faculty recruitment panels for positions including Assistant Professors, Speech Therapists, Audiologists, and Sign Language Interpreters. She is also a journal reviewer for national and international publications and a test tool evaluator for the CVLT-California Verbal Learning Test (Pearson, 2020). She has coordinated 14 RCI-CRE programs, mentored eight Ph.D. students, 14 PG dissertations, and 5 UG project, and served as an examiner, central evaluator, and question paper setter for multiple universities.
Research Interest
she specializes in teaching, research, and patient care in Audiology and Speech-Language Pathology.
Abstract
Adaptation of Early Language Scale in Tamil: A Parental Tool for Identifying Language Delay in Children
The present study aimed to adapt and validate the Early Language Scale (ELS) into Tamil to facilitate early identification of Developmental Language Disorder (DLD) among Tamil-speaking children aged 1 to 6 years. The study was conducted in four phases: translation and cultural adaptation, pilot testing, validation, and diagnostic accuracy assessment. A total of 120 children participated, comprising 60 typically developing (TD) and 60 with DLD, selected based on specific inclusion and exclusion criteria. The adaptation followed standard procedures including forward?backward translation and expert review to ensure linguistic and cultural relevance. Reliability and validity analyses were carried out to determine the psychometric robustness of the Tamil version of ELS. Results revealed excellent internal consistency (Cronbach?s ? = 0.95) and strong test?retest reliability (r = 0.97). Significant group differences were observed between TD and DLD children, confirming the scale?s discriminant validity. Correlation analysis between ELS scores and the Receptive Expressive Emergent Language Test (REEL) demonstrated strong concurrent validity (r = 0.93). Diagnostic accuracy analysis using ROC curves indicated high sensitivity (94%) and specificity (92%) at the optimal cutoff point. The Tamil ELS proved to be a reliable, valid, and culturally appropriate screening tool for early identification of DLD. This tool holds clinical significance for use by speech-language pathologists, pediatricians, and early educators in Tamil-speaking populations to facilitate timely referral and intervention. The study emphasizes the importance of culturally adapted tools in bridging linguistic gaps in early language screening and promoting effective early childhood communication development.
