The MacArthur Inventario del Desarrollo de Habilidades Comunicativas III: a measure of language development in Spanish-speaking two- to four-year-olds

Parent report measures are reliable, valid, and cost-effective means for obtaining information about early child language development. Adaptations of the MacArthur-Bates Communicative Development Inventories are available in multiple languages for children below the age of three but there is a need for such measures for older children. This study introduces the Spanish adaptation of the MacArthur-Bates Communicative Development Inventory-III, the MacArthur Inventario del Desarrollo de Habilidades Comunicativas III (IDHC-III) designed for children 2.5 to 4 years of age. This form complements the MacArthur Inventario Del Desarrollo de Habilidades Comunicativas Palabras y Gestos and Palabras y Enunciados (IDHC:PG and IDHC:PE) for younger children. A total of 571 families of monolingual Spanish-speaking children from a diverse socio-economic sample in Mexico completed the IDHC-III and comprise the norming sample. Data are presented by age and maternal education level showing developmental growth curves for Lista de Vocabulario (Vocabulary) and Tipos de Palabras y Oraciones (Grammatical Complexity). Norming tables showing variability by ages along with preliminary descriptive data on Pronunciación (Pronunciation) and Conceptos Generales (General Concepts) sections are presented. This is a parent report measure for children up to age four that can be used for both clinical and for research purposes.