Pediatria pre prax 4/2011

New screening for evaluation of communication behaviour in infants and toddlers (TEKOS)

Language delay in toddlers is an indicator of developmental delay. TEKOS is a new research-based screening of communication behaviour in children created in Slovak language. It was developed for infants and toddlers from 8 to 30 months of age. TEKOS evaluates language comprehension, active and passive vocabulary, nonverbal communication (gestures and play) and grammatical aspects of communication ability. It allows to identify at-risk children already in their first year of life.

Keywords: communication ability, language delay, language impairment, screening, at-risk children.