Infant Vocabulary Checklist (OZI-SF)

Introducing the OZI-SF

Ever wondered how your child is going with their talking? You can use a checklist that we created for Australian parents. It’s called the OZI-SF (Short Form of the OZI, pronounced “oz-eye”). It’s an Australian version of an international checklist called the MacArthur-Bates Communicative Development Inventories. Basically, the checklist is a list of early words which are typically learned by children from age 1 year until 2.5 years.

Access the OZI-SF checklist here.

You can use your smartphone or tablet/computer. The OZI-SF asks you as a parent, as the expert on your child, whether your child says or understands each item, in any language (English and/or any home language like Arabic, Vietnamese, etc.) There are 100 items (words) plus some background questions. Each child ends up with a score out of 100 for words they say (“expressive vocabulary”) and words they understand (“receptive vocabulary”).

We know from our research what scores a child typically has at each age. The OZI-SF can be used as a quick (10 minute) screening tool e.g. by parents, speech pathologists, GPs or early childhood professionals. As about one in five children are late to talk, worldwide, it’s important to keep an eye on your child’s development; you can do the OZI-SF as many times as you like e.g. every 6 weeks.

Use our OZI-SF Results Interpreter to find out what your child’s score means. If your child’s score is very low for their age, the tool will suggest that you talk to a professional to get a fuller assessment and help. The last page also points you towards resources to help your child learn to talk.

Take the OZI-SF now

Find out what your child's OZI-SF numbers mean

Academic article about the OZI-SF

Learn about the OZI (the long version) [[link]]

Images by Alexies Adao

Thank you to everyone who tuned in to our MARCS BabyLab webinar on the 24th of June 2020, on our new short early communication checklist, the OZI-SF.

In case you missed it or would like to share with friends, here is the 30-min video recording.

The OZI-SF was developed in partnership with:

Western Sydney University MARCS Institute for Brain, Behaviour and Development logo

Babylab logo

Ingham Institute Applied Medical Research logo

NSW Government Health South Western Sydney Local Health District Logo

With funding from:

Australian Government Australian Research Council

ARC Centre of Excellence for the Dynamics of Language logo