THE GRIFFITHS SCALES: VALIDATION FOR PORTUGUESE POPULATION – A PILOT STUDY

1. ARICD 14thInternationalScientific Meeting THE GRIFFITHS SCALES: VALIDATION FOR PORTUGUESE POPULATION – A PILOT STUDY Carlota Themudo Ferreira, Inês Carvalhão, Inês Pessoa e Costa, Iolanda Gil, Patrícia Borges, Solange Fernandes & Manuela Veríssimo

2. Authors • Carlota Themudo Ferreira (Griffiths Tutor, Instituto Científico de Formação e Investigação, FAPPC, Portugal); • Inês Carvalhão (Griffiths Tutor, Centro de Reabilitação de Paralisia Cerebral Calouste Gulbenkian,  Lisboa, Portugal); • Inês Pessoa e Costa (UIPCDE e CECF, ISPA-IU, Portugal); • Iolanda Gil (Griffiths Tutor, Centro de Reabilitação de Paralisia Cerebral Calouste Gulbenkian, Lisboa, Portugal); • Patrícia Borges (UIPCDE e CECF, ISPA-IU, Portugal); • Solange Fernandes (Griffiths Tutor, Centro Hospitalar Oeste Norte, Caldas da Rainha, Portugal); • Manuela Veríssimo (UIPCDE e CECF, ISPA-IU, Portugal).

3. Introduction • The 1st Griffiths course in Portugal, directed by Psychologist Dr. Michael Huntley, was held in 1988; • Thefirst portuguese tutorswererecognized in 1991 by ARICD; • The first portuguese edition of the 0-2 Scale (Revision 1996) was published in 2007 and the 2-8 Scale (Revision 2006) in 2008. The translation and adaptation of the application norms was made by the Portuguese Tutors in collaboration with CEGOC, responsible for editing; • The Griffiths Scales are frequently used in Portugal to assess the child development;

4. AimoftheStudy • In theconclusionsofthestudy “Griffiths profiles in a groupofprematurechildrenwith PVL – a comparativestudy” (2010), wasraisedthe need to validate the british norms in a portuguese sample . • The passed year, the Portuguese Tutors and a research team from ISPA-InstitutoUniversitário started a project whose aim was to validate the GMDS-ER to the portuguese population. • This study presents the results of a portuguese sample that will allow,comparingthe scores of britishstantardization, to validate the appropriateness of the original tables in the clinical assessment of portuguese children.

5. Methodology Procedure: • All children were assessed with the Griffiths Scales at their schools; • A report of the results was sent to the parents and, if allowed, to the schools; • The statistical results were based on the raw scores;

6. Methodology Sample

7. GroupCharacterization *Parent’s age atthe time ofthestudy

8. Results - Raw Scores Meansand Standard Deviationsfromthebritishand portuguese samples: total scores *p<.05

9. Results - Raw Scores Meansfromthebritishand portuguese samples: total scores

10. Comparisonbetweenthebritishand portuguese sample: SignificativeDifferencesfoundin age groups *p<.05

11. *p<.05

12. *p<.05

13. *p<.05

14. *p<.05

15. *p<.05

16. Conclusions • As observed in previous researches done in Portugal withotherscalesthatassesscognitiveareas (WISC III e WPPSI III), in thepresentstudywealsohadlowerresultswhencomparingthe portuguese andthebritish total samples. • Looking at the subscales in the different age groups: • Good results in the subscales B and C can reflect the cultural and pedagogical aspects most valued in portuguese pre-school: autonomy and communicative interaction; • Thelowerresultsshown in thesubscales D (specially in thegraphomotorskills) and F (specially in the conceptual formation) maybeexplainedbythefactthatkindergartenacquisitons, such as concepts, phonetics, graphics, etc. onlybegin to beworked out atthe age of 5.

17. StudyLimitationsand Future Research • The sample waschosen for convenience, wasrestricted to an urban area (Lisbon) and mostly to a medium/high sociocultural level. • The results points out the importance of continuing in this path, using a larger and more representative sample of the population at national level • This pilot study makes us think about the importance of standardizing the GMDS in the portuguese population.