A study to validate the Ten-Question-Questionnaire + for the detection of moderate to severe neurological disabilities in older Bangladeshi children.

Our study validated the Ten Question Questionnaire (TQQ+) for Bangladeshi children between 10 and 16 years. The TQQ + is a rapid screening tool for disability and was previously validated in children below 9 years of age. The study was carried out in Chattogram, Bangladesh. One hundred children aged 10–16 years, 10 with mild or moderate disabilities, 40 with severe disabilities, and 50 children without a disability were identified. Children with disability (n = 50) had previously undergone Wechsler Intelligence Scale-Revised (WISC-R) assessments by psychologists as a reference standard. Each child was evaluated using Rapid Neurodevelopmental Assessment (RNDA) by physicians and TQQ + was administered by researchers. Sensitivities and specificities of TQQ + were evaluated in comparison with RNDA and WISC-R. The sensitivity of TQQ + was 98% in comparison with either RNDA or WISC-R. The specificity of TQQ was 76.5% compared with RNDA and 78% with WISC-R. TQQ + successfully picked up cognitive (98%) and motor (75%) disabilities as well as behavioural problems (88.9%). Specificity was good to excellent in all other domains. Logistic regression showed that TQQ + could reliably predict disability by RNDA and WISC-R. The area under the Receiver Operating Characteristic Curve (ROC) curve was 0.88 which denoted good diagnostic accuracy of the questionnaire. The TQQ + is valid for screening disabilities in 10–16 year old Bangladeshi children. If children with neurodevelopmental disabilities are screened early, the benefit of intervention will be greater. TQQ + is an easy to administer and low-cost tool that has been validated internationally. The TQQ + is now validated and can be used for children aged 10 to 16 years in Bangladesh. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]