Measuring parents’ knowledge and skills in supporting language and communication in naturalistic context: a test (DOBB-Y) development study

This study aimed to develop a scenario-based assessment tool to evaluate parents' knowledge and skills in supporting the language and communication abilities of children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) within naturalistic contexts. Parental support plays a key role in enhancing children's verbal language outcomes over time. The test, named the Knowledge and Skills Test in Supporting Language and Communication in Naturalistic Context (derived from Turkish initials DOBB-Y), comprises 20 items in Turkish and is structured under five domains: general knowledge, pre-interaction strategies, communicative temptations, language support strategies, and behaviour management. Each item presents a scenario to assess the appropriateness of parental responses. For the exploratory factor analysis, data were collected from 112 parents of children with ASD aged 23 to 63. The confirmatory factor analysis involved 171 parents aged 25 to 69. Following CFA, the final test demonstrated high reliability with a KR-20 coefficient of 0.743. The DOBB-Y offers a practical, reliable tool for assessing parents' competencies in naturally supporting the communicative development of their children with ASD. It may also guide the design of parent training programmes aiming to enhance interactional quality in early developmental contexts.