ASL Assessment in Practice: Assessing American Sign Language Across Clinical Settings

Abstract

Purpose: This exploratory research investigates the assessment tools currently used by professionals to measure receptive and expressive American Sign Language (ASL) abilities in students who are deaf/hard of hearing (DHH). Few standardized assessment tools are available for ASL and, of the limited number of tools that exist, even fewer are commercially available for professionals in the schools and clinical settings. Method: Thirty-one professionals (including speech-language pathologists, teachers of students who are DHH, ASL specialists, etc.) completed an online survey about their assessment tools and practices. Results: Most practitioners reported using a variety of assessment tools, some standardized/normed for students who are DHH and others modified from English-based assessments. The Visual Communication and Sign Language Checklist was the most popular ASL assessment followed by the Kendall Conversational Proficiency Levels, Social Communication Skills—Pragmatics Checklist, and Language Development Scale (part of the SKI-HI curriculum). More than 80% of practitioners reported relying on elicited language samples and/or observational language samples. Conclusions: Practitioners reported variable access to and knowledge of appropriate measurement tools for measuring students’ ASL abilities. Continued dissemination of knowledge and better access to assessments are critically needed for professionals who assess these students.