Design and development of the Persian Written Language Assessment Profile: a validation study on children with repaired cleft lip and/or palate

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Evidence on written language assessment remains limited in Persian-speaking children, particularly in clinical populations such as children with cleft lip and/or palate (CL/P), who may present with higher-order language difficulties. This study aimed to develop and validate the Persian Written Language Assessment Profile (PWLAP). METHODS: A sequential mixed-methods design was used. In Phase I, the PWLAP was developed through literature review, expert interviews, and a two-round Delphi process involving 14 specialists. In Phase II, the profile was administered to 184 Persian-speaking students in grades 3-6 (128 typically developing (TD) and 56 with CL/P). Written language was evaluated using lexical measures (total number of words, number of different words, and type-token ratio) and morphosyntactic indices (T-unit measures, clause production, clausal complexity, and morphosyntactic errors). RESULTS: Strong expert consensus supported the content validity of the PWLAP. The PWALP successfully differentiated students with CL/P from TD peers across lexical and morphosyntactic measures (p < 0.05), supporting construct validity. Reliability analyses demonstrated excellent inter- and intra-rater reliability (ICC >/= 0.95). CONCLUSION: The PWLAP is a valid and reliable tool for assessing written language in Persian-speaking students and may be useful in assessment of written language in children with CL/P.