Speech And Language Assessment Research Articles

Speech-Language Assessment in the Clinical Setting

Time constraints are a significant factor for clinic-based and school-based speech-language pathologists. Yet, with a planning process that incorporates parent information and accounts for child temperament, a comprehensive speech and language assessment can be completed within a 90-minute time frame. A parent questionnaire is completed prior to the assessment date, focusing on developmental history, including information about family history of learning difficulties and episodes of otitis media. Standardized and nonstandardized procedures are included in the assessment process in order to obtain clinically relevant information and provide parents and public service agencies with necessary qualifying scores. The Bankson-Bernthal Test of Phonology (BBTOP; Bankson & Bernthal, 1991) is the choice of instruments for standardized articulation/phonology testing, whereas the Preschool Language Scale-3 (PLS-3; Zimmerman, Steiner, & Pond, 1992) and a spontaneous language sample are recommended as language measures. A spontaneous sample also provides opportunity for clinical judgment regarding speech intelligibility, pragmatic skills, voice, and fluency. A recommendation session concludes the evaluation with a discussion of the child's performance on speech and language measures, overall impressions, and recommendations. This discussion includes strengths and weaknesses, with focus on answering parents' questions and addressing their concerns.

Communicating Effectively With Clients During a Speech-Language Pathologist/Interpreter Conference: Results of a Survey

17 1092-5171/02/2901-0017 ABSTRACT: Teams of speech-language pathologists, interpreters, and clients were asked to respond to a survey about the characteristics of an effective conference where the results of a speech-language assessment and recommendations were reported. The goals of the project were to describe practices followed by clinicians to ensure that their professional voice was conveyed effectively to the client despite a language barrier and to assess clients’ satisfaction with the information they received. Questions for the speech-language pathologists and the interpreters were similar and pertained to clarity, accuracy of the information conveyed, and issues of confidentiality, clients’ rights, and the dynamics of the conference (what to do if the client seeks advice directly from the interpreter, what to do if the client brings in a bilingual advocate, and what if the interpreter does not agree with what is said). The speechlanguage pathologists and the interpreters were also asked R Communicating Effectively With Clients During a Speech-Language Pathologist/Interpreter Conference: Results of a Survey

Performance of English-speaking Indians on the Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test

A number of Indian children receive their formal schooling in a language other than their first language. Irrespective of the language spoken at home, these children attend English-medium schools. If children with such a background require speech-language assessment, it is only appropriate that the assessment be carried out in English but, with such clients, the clinician lacks the necessary tools for formal language assessment, as there are no tests for assessment of English-speaking Indians. It would be ideal to construct a new test for this population. However, considering the various difficulties encountered in the construction of new tests, an immediate solution would be to modify an existing test to make it suitable for the Indian population. Keeping this in view, the present study was carried out to analyse the performance of English-speaking Indian subjects in different age ranges on form 'L' of the revised Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test. Subjects between 10;0 to 10;11 years, 11;0 to 11;11 years, 12;0 to 12;11 years, 13;0 to 13;11 years, 14;0 to 14;11 years, 17;0 to 17;11 years, 18;0 to 18;11 years and 19;0 to 19;11 years from different schools and colleges in the suburbs of Mumbai were considered. Results indicate an age trend in the development of vocabulary skills, such that vocabulary increases with an increase in age. However, Indian subjects are found to be performing at a lower level as compared with their chronological age. Furthermore, error analysis indicates that this test cannot be considered appropriate for use with English-speaking Indians.

Best Practice in School Speech Language Assessment: Using Early Intervention Results

This study investigated the degree to which a large urban inner city school district implemented the recommendations of an early intervention program that fed into its schools. Fifty-two African-American children who received early intervention services were followed through a parent questionnaire. Results showed that the assessment and identification information provided by the early intervention team was highly accurate. The recommendations from competent early intervention teams can be an effective assessment method for children entering school with speech/language delays.

Language development in African American English child speech

Much of the current understanding about African American English (AAE) has come from the 1960s and 1970s research of sociolinguists such as Labov (1969, 1972a, 1972b) and Wolfram (1969). The majority of those studies, however, focused on the language behavior of adolescent and adult AAE speakers with little attention to that of younger speakers. The use of these adolescent/adult-based norms has obvious implications for educators and speech-language clinicians involved with the language instruction, assessment, and intervention of young AAE child speakers. Specifically, these norms can lead to inappropriate language expectations for children in public school settings. The purpose of this article is to provide an overview of current research on grammatical, phonological, semantic, and pragmatic development in AAE child speech and to discuss the implications of these findings for professionals involved with second-dialect instruction, speech-language assessment and/or intervention programs. Methodological issues associated with the investigation of African American child language concerns are also addressed.

The Value of Speech-Language Assessment in the Diagnosis of Child Abuse

Language deficits and developmental delays may be helpful clues in the diagnosis of child abuse and neglect. Speech-language assessment of 27 children burned through abuse or neglect identified 22 (81%) with language delays. Other significant trends included a decreased attention span, inappropriate affect, irritability, and withdrawn behavior. We recommend speech-language assessment for all burned children suspected to be victims of abuse or neglect as part of the abuse team investigation and to identify children who may benefit from intervention.

Bias Effects in Speech-Language Assessment and Decision-Making

Within recent years, much research has been conducted with regard to possible biasing factors that impact upon the placement of children in special education programs. The present study examined the effects of a child's sex and socioeconomic status on referral, assessment, and decision-making in speech-language pathology. Results suggested that some referral and assessment decisions may be biased solely by the child's sex and socioeconomic status.

COMMUNICATION SCREENING OF PEDIATRIC POPULATIONS

Communication Screening Stamps were developed to be “stamped” in the child's medical chart and administered by a nurse or pediatrician. The STAMPS consists of 5 to 7 items to be administered or queried at each of 9 chronologic age intervals coinciding with pediatric immunization schedules from 2-24 months. In contrast to the ELM, a marketed screening instrument for children 0-36 months of age, the STAMP is less time-consuming to administer and less complex to score. Results of data analysis for a sample of 236 children revealed that the STAMPS yield high sensitivity and specificity in relation to the ELM (93% and 91% respectively). When both screening instruments were used with populations at high risk for communication deviance (N=33), the STAMPS showed increased sensitivity over the ELM (100% vs. 83%) in relation to the presence of communication deviance (as revealed thorugh formal speech/language assessment). Specificity for the STAMPS (80%) in high-risk populations was based on a small number of children who either passed or failed the STAMPS and passed the follow-up speech-language assessment. Interjudge reliability computed for the STAMPS for three judges over six trials was 100%. Results of ongoing studies specificity with children of varied handicapping conditions will be reported.