Psychometric Evaluation and Developmental Validity of the Turkish Child Oral and Motor Proficiency Scale (ChOMPS)

Aim: Oral motor skills are vital for feeding, swallowing, and speech, forming the basis for a child’s nutrition and communication. Accurate assessment of these skills is essential for identifying developmental delays and planning early interventions. However, standardized and psychometrically sound tools in Turkish are limited. This study aimed to evaluate the reliability, validity, and developmental validity of the Turkish translation of the Children’s Oral and Motor Proficiency Scale (ChOMPS) for children aged 6 months to 6 years, providing a reliable tool for clinical and developmental use. Material and Methods: The ChOMPS was translated into Turkish using standardized forward–backward translation and expert review. Content validity was evaluated by ten pediatric rehabilitation specialists using the Item Content Validity Index (I-CVI) and modified kappa statistics. Psychometric analyses were conducted with 199 children (162 typically developing, 37 with cerebral palsy). Statistical analyses included Cronbach’s alpha, item–total correlations, test–retest reliability (intraclass correlation coefficients, ICC), receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis, known-group validity, and developmental validity based on the Ages and Stages Questionnaire–Turkish (ASQ-TR). Results: The Turkish ChOMPS demonstrated excellent psychometric properties. Internal consistency was high (α_total = 0.987; subscales = 0.979–0.983), and test–retest reliability confirmed temporal stability (ICC = 0.903–0.933). Content validity was excellent (Ave-CVI = 0.99; k* = 0.99). ROC analysis showed strong diagnostic accuracy (AUC = 0.90, cut-off ≤ 71, sensitivity = 97.3%, specificity = 72.2%). The scale differentiated children with cerebral palsy from typically developing peers (p < 0.001, Cohen’s d = 1.55–2.33) and showed developmental progression across ASQ-TR domains (p < 0.001). Conclusion: The Turkish ChOMPS is a reliable, valid, and developmentally sensitive tool for assessing oral motor and feeding proficiency in early childhood. It can be effectively used for clinical screening and developmental evaluation.