Psychometric Properties of the Turkish Version of the Modified Mini Mental State Examination

One of the most commonly used screening tests for the mental status of adults is the Standardized Mini Mental State Examination (MMSE). The MMSE is designed to screen for cognitive dysfunction, assess the severity of impairments, and identify changes over time. In the country of the researchers, the Turkish adaptation of the MMSE for children has not been done and the validity and reliability of the Turkish version has not been demonstrated. This paper aims to investigate the pschiatric features of the MMSE for Turkish pediatric population.

Cerebral Palsy progresses with neurosensory, behavioral and cognitive disorders, especially restrictive adaptive behaviors, and a wider range of symptoms and functional disorders (1). Cognitive functions are all the brain functions required to receive stimuli from the outside and inside, select stimuli, create responses and coordinate with the environment (2). During childhood, cognitive functions can be negatively affected by many diseases, conditions or health problems. Evaluation of cognitive functions is important to determine whether cognitive abilities deviate from normal, to treat and monitor them. For this reason, many different tests are used in different age groups. These are; Montreal cognitive assessment (MoCA), Raven matrices, Wechsler adult intelligence scale (WAIS), Rey-identity and response memory test, Bender visual motor perception test, Delis-kaplan verbal reasoning test (D-KEFS), Stroop Test and Verbal memory tests are some of them. These tests are usually specific to their fields and may require trained professionals for long application periods. One of the most commonly used screening tests for adults is the Standardized Mini Mental State Examination (MMSE). The MMSE is designed to screen for cognitive dysfunctions, assess the severity of the disorders, and determine changes over time. The MMSE was developed by Folstein and colleagues (3) to rapidly assess cognitive functions. It consists of five sections: orientation, registration, attention and calculation, recall, and language, and is scored out of 30 points. Some of the existing screening tools used in childhood are limited in their use due to their reliance on parental reports, unknown correlations with general intelligence, the need for motor skills, literacy, and lack of sensitivity to developmental change. Therefore, it has been determined that there is a need for low-cost, rapidly administerable short cognitive screening tools that will allow rapid assessment of a wide range of cognitive domains in childhood. In this context, pediatric versions of the MMSE have begun to be used in various countries, such as Australia (4), India (5), Niger (6), Spain (7), and the USA (8). However, the psychometric properties of the MMSE in children with CP have only been reported in Brazil by Moura et al. (9). The Turkish adaptation of the MMSE has not been made for children and the validity and reliability of the Turkish version has not been demonstrated.

Eligibility Criteria:
Inclusion Criteria:

* Between the ages of 5-18,
* Children diagnosed with neurodevelopmental disorders (Attention Deficit and Hyperactivity Disorder, Specific Learning Disorder, Autism Spectrum Disorder, Motor Disorders (Spastic SP)
* Children who can understand and apply Turkish commands

Exclusion Criteria:

Those with have serious hearing and speech problems