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The purpose of this study was to establish a set of normative data (growth curve and centiles) for the Infant Monitor of vocal Production (IMP) using a representative population of infants with typically developing hearing. A linear mixed effect model and regression was used to derive 'stage-for-age' trajectory and growth centiles from the standard sequence of IMP assessment scores of 85 infants with normal hearing (age range 3-13 months). A significant linear relationship was demonstrated between IMP scores and infant age (p < .001). No significant relationship was found between IMP scores and gender, mono/bilingual language environment, singleton/sibling status, maternal education, or maternal work status. Inter-rater reliability and correlation for agreement was strong (0.94). These findings show that IMP assessment depicts the vocal development of infants with normal hearing as an hierarchical relationship between the complexity of infant vocal productions and infant age. Normative gains in vocal competency (-1SD/+1SD) approximated one IMP question per month of age from an infant's baseline level of IMP achievement.

The Infant Monitor of vocal Production (IMP) was conceived as an educational strategy to help parents understand the nature and pace of their baby's vocal development following neonatal diagnosis and amplification for hearing loss. The potential for other clinical applications emerged with use. The instrument presents as a series of parent-professional conversations that scaffold parent observation and evaluation of their baby's vocal development across the first 12 months of natural hearing ability/early device-aided hearing experience. A graphic representation of IMP results illustrates for parents and professionals the timeliness (or otherwise) of a baby's advancement through a hierarchy of vocal behaviours that demonstrate the emergence and integrity of an infant's audition-production loop--the mechanism whereby acuity of hearing guides nascent vocal productions to progressively "mirror" the acoustic features of accessible speech. A pilot study showed that the IMP quantified typical infant vocal development as a function of chronological age/normal hearing experience (birth to 12 months). Further, it demonstrated that the instrument was sensitive to individual differences in rate of vocal development for infants, from birth to 12 months of device-assisted hearing age.

Aim: We compared early vocal development in children "at risk" for cerebral palsy (CP) with typically developing (TD) infants aged 6 to 15 months using the SAEVD-R, investigating potential pre-linguistic markers of communication impairment. Additionally, we sought to examine the agreement between the SAEVD-R and IMP, which uses parent report, in identifying departure from typical vocal development in at-risk infants. Method: Utilising a longitudinal cohort study, >10,000 vocalisations of 33 infants (15 at risk for CP and 18 TD) were assessed at 6, 9, 12, and 15 months using the SAEVD-R. Generalised linear mixed models (GLMMs) compared groups, and Spearman correlations explored IMP ceiling scores and SAEVD-R measures. Results: At 6 months, both TD and CP groups reached SAEVD-R vocalisation level 3 (expansion). By 9 months, 51% of TD infants progressed to advanced babbling (levels 4 and 5), while 80% of at-risk infants remained at level 3. At 12 and 15 months, over 90% of TD children advanced, compared to 67% at 12 months and 53% at 15 months for at-risk infants, who stayed at the pre-canonical stage. Strong correlations were found between IMP scores and vocalisation levels at 9 and 12 months. Remaining at the pre-canonical stage at 12 months correlated with delayed vocal development as per IMP scores. Interpretation: TD infants achieved higher SAEVD-R levels than at-risk infants. At 12 months, IMP scores effectively identified infants with speech-like vocalisation difficulties, demonstrating its clinical utility in identifying atypical vocal development in infants at risk for CP. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Infant Monitor of vocal Production (IMP) was conceived as an educational strategy to help parents understand the nature and pace of their baby's vocal development following neonatal diagnosis and amplification for hearing loss. The potential for other clinical applications emerged with use. The instrument presents as a series of parent-professional conversations that scaffold parent observation and evaluation of their baby's vocal development across the first 12 months of natural hearing ability/early device-aided hearing experience. A graphic representation of IMP results illustrates for parents and professionals the timeliness (or otherwise) of a baby's advancement through a hierarchy of vocal behaviours that demonstrate the emergence and integrity of an infant's audition-production loop-the mechanism whereby acuity of hearing guides nascent vocal productions to progressively 'mirror' the acoustic features of accessible speech. A pilot study showed that the IMP quantified typical infant vocal development as a function of chronological age/normal hearing experience (birth to 12 months). Further, it demonstrated that the instrument was sensitive to individual differences in rate of vocal development for infants, from birth to 12 months of device-assisted hearing age. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]