Language Development Project
The Survey of Parent/Provider Expectations and Knowledge (SPEAK) is an assessment of caregivers’ knowledge in the areas of early childhood cognitive and language development. The SPEAK was developed by the TMW Center for Early Learning and Public Health, led by Dr. Dana Suskind. The self-administered survey is designed for both clinical and research settings and is available in both English and Spanish.
The SPEAK is continuously revised to reflect the most current findings in developmental psychology, education, and pediatric research. I contributed to the third revision, the SPEAK-IV. My work with TMW was in two major components – theoretical foundations and item development. I created an evidence-based outline of the “ideal” survey, cross-cutting four developmental periods in early childhood and eight content domains, e.g. language production, math, and screen-media use. Using this as a guideline, I revised existing items to more accurately address target measures, to be accessible to adults from diverse social, educational, linguistic, and economic backgrounds, and to reflect evolving scientific findings and socio-cultural attitudes. I developed new items across domains, with particular attention to dual-language learning, screen-media usage, and mathematical development.