nicole kotras masters thesis

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impairment fall into 9 th position. It is these cases which further emphasize the urgent need to
adapt the small and large pictures utilized in the Hearing and Speech Scale, so as not to
bias those children who are already affected by a physical handicap.
Through studying the profiles of a number of children, Griffiths (1984) identified
prominent patterns which can be used for diagnostic purposes. Graphically represented
profiles are utilized to indicate the wide differences with respect to the children's
developmental abilities. To illustrate through an example, it is reported that a child who is
physically disabled or suffering from some form of physical weakness, will fall out on the
Locomotor Scale (Scale A) and the Eye and Hand Co-ordination Scale (Scale D), while the
remaining scales will fall within the average range.
Lister (1981) purposes the relevance and value of utilizing graphically presented
profiles. Lister (1981) found that substantial numbers of developmental profiles were
characterized by marked unevenness. Children between the ages of 2 years and 7 years
were included in his sample (N = 63). Luiz (1988d) substantiates Lister's (1981) study and
confirmed the usefulness of developmental profiles for identifying specific developmental
delays in a clinical population of South African children. Luiz's (1988d) sample (N = 98)
consisted of children between the ages of 2 years 6 months and 7 years 7 months. In both
Lister's (1981) and Luiz's (1988d) studies, a differences between the higher and lowest
developmental quotients were around 16 points or more. Furthermore, through profile
analysis, a vulnerable child could be identified by comparison with an established subtype
profile. Subsequently, areas of risk by profile analysis could be identified and hence referred
to the appropriate resource(s) for remediation.
Sweeney's (1984) study aimed to determine whether certain profile typologies could
be derived from the Griffiths Scales in the South African context. The sample consisted of
198 children in the age ranges 2-4 years (n=43) and 4-6 years (n=155). Three clusters were
identified in each of the two groups. The clusters were labelled as a high ability group, an
average ability group, and a low ability group. The results of this study suggested that
clinical typologies for South African pre-schoolers and early school-age children, can be
developed using the Griffiths Scales.
Huntley (1994) reported the following about the Hearing and Speech Scale, "In one
sense the whole of the C Scale is culturally biased. But appropriate translations into other