The Supports Intensity Scale Children's Version-Icelandic Translation: Examining Measurement Properties.
The Icelandic SIS-C keeps the same seven-domain structure, but age norms differ from the U.S., so tweak support plans to fit local data.
01Research in Context
What this study did
Patton et al. (2020) tested the Icelandic translation of the Supports Intensity Scale for Children (SIS-C). They wanted to know if the seven-domain structure still fits after translation.
The team worked with a mixed group of children who had different clinical diagnoses. They used statistical models to check if the scale keeps the same pattern of scores.
What they found
The seven-domain structure held up in Icelandic. This means the scale still measures the same support needs areas after translation.
Yet age-related patterns looked different from the original U.S. data. Icelandic teams will need to adjust their support plans to match local age trends.
How this fits with other research
Giné et al. (2017) ran a similar test with the Catalan SIS-C. Both studies kept the seven-domain shape, giving you confidence that the scale travels well across languages.
van Timmeren et al. (2016) did the first confirmatory factor analysis of the SIS-C in Spanish. Their work set the stage for later translations like the Icelandic one.
The Catalan and Icelandic papers both found culture-specific age effects. This is not a contradiction; it simply shows that local norms matter when you interpret scores.
Why it matters
If you serve Icelandic-speaking families, you can now use the SIS-C knowing it is valid. Just remember to weigh the local age patterns when you pick support hours. Check if younger kids in your sample show lower scores than the U.S. manual predicts, and adjust goals accordingly.
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02At a glance
03Original abstract
An innovation in developing the Supports Intensity Scale-Children's Version (SIS-C) was the adoption of latent variable modeling approaches to norm development. In regard to translated versions of the SIS-C, the latent modeling approaches provided opportunities to leverage the large standardization sample generated in the United States (n = 4,015) to generate translation-specific norms from data collected on smaller samples in other countries and enable future cross-cultural analyses. In this study, data were collected on children in Iceland who received special education services (as defined and delivered in Iceland), a more diverse group of children with disabilities than the U.S. sample. This provided a unique context to explore cross-cultural differences. Findings indicated the structure of the SIS-C (i.e., seven support need domains organized under an overall support needs construct), was supported in the Icelandic context. However, findings also suggested that supports planning teams in Iceland must consider specific age-related factors that differ from other cultural contexts.
American journal on intellectual and developmental disabilities, 2020 · doi:10.1352/1944-7558-125.4.318