Assessment Overview Flashcards
language assessment in the context of early intervention
- determine if child has significant impairment in form, content, and/or use
- describe deficit relative to typical developmental sequence of language acquisition
- determine how deficit will affect child’s ADLs
determine if child has significant impairment in form, content, and/or use
significant = 25% delay in 1 domain
language assessment in the context of early intervention: guidelines
- use multiple methods utilize family members as partners in the process
- strength-based
- naturalistic
- describe child’s strengths and weaknesses in all areas (the whole child)
authentic assessment
- family members are our partners
- engaging families as partners checklist
- authentic assessment checklist
- building on child’s strengths checklist
- CEC authentic ax checklist
- ID settings and situations that the child is in daily that provide opportunities
- ID skills demo’d during those activities
- ID materials and interactions that allow child to maintain engagement and achieve competence in a task
engaging families as partners checklist
- solicit input from the family about the reasons for referral including their questions and concerns about their child
- explain to the family the purpose of an assessment and how results will be used
- schedule times for child assessments that the family feels would work best for their child and family
- share ways that the family can be involved in the assessment process (e.g., interacting with their child, being an informant, sharing information)
- use appropriate assessment strategies (e.g., open ended questions, interviews, checklists) for encouraging the family to participate in ways they choose
- use formal tools, interviews, or other informal methods (e.g. observations) to identify child’s strengths or what might be challenging for the child’s participation in everyday activities
- explicitly acknowledge the family’s observations about their child’s behavior, skills, and development
- solicit the family’s input on the assessment findings and engage the family in a discussion of their priorities and/or the focus for next steps
authentic assessment checklist
- observe the child’s participation in everyday (family, classroom, or community) activities and routines
- query the child’s primary caregivers (parents, teachers, etc.) about the everyday activities that “make up” a child’s everyday experiences
- identify the context-specific child functional behavior (through observation or caregiver report) that are used in everyday activities
- ascertain the child behaviors (strengths, interests, preferences, etc.) that sustain child engagement in everyday activities
- determine which materials (objects, toys, etc.) and adult interactional/instructional behavior are associated with optimal levels of child competence
- identify which everyday activities, learning opportunities, materials, and adult behavior will be used to support and strengthen child acquisition of functional competencies in a number of different context-specific activities routines
- monitor and analyze child learning and progress to determine needed changes in everyday child learning opportunities
building on child’s strengths checklist
- observe the child’s participation in everyday activities and routines that “make up” the child’s learning experiences
- identify the child behavior that he/she uses during everyday activities and the behavior that are indicators of child interests (intense engagement, smiling, laughter, excitement, etc.)
- interview the child’s primary caregivers about his or her child’s strengths or have them complete a child strengths assessment checklist
- identify the particular child’s strengths (skills, interests, etc.) that sustain child engagement and interaction with people and materials in different everyday activities
- provide the child multiple opportunities to participate in strengths-based everyday activities to encourage engagement, learning, and skills and interest expression
- use context-specific interactional and instructional practices to sustain child engagement and to promote and enhance child learning competence
- monitor changes in child’s strengths and provide new learning opportunities to encourage the acquisition of new skills and interests
CEC authentic ax checklist
- practitioners work with the family to identify family preferences for assessment processes
- practitioners work as a team with the family and other professionals to gather assessment information
- practitioners use assessment materials and strategies that are appropriate for the child’s age and level of development and accommodate the child’s sensory, physical, communication, cultural, linguistic, social, and emotional characteristics
- practitioners conduct assessments that include all areas of development and behavior to learn about the child’s strengths, needs, preferences, and interests
- practitioners conduct assessments in the child’s dominant language and in additional languages if the child is learning more than one language
- practitioners use a variety of methods, including observation and interviews, to gather assessment information from multiple sources, including the child’s family and other significant individuals in the child’s life
- practitioners obtain information about the child’s skills in daily activities, routines, and environments such as home, center, and community
- practitioners use clinical reasoning in addition to assessment results to identify the child’s current levels of functioning and to determine the child’s eligibility and plan for instruction
- practitioners implement systematic ongoing assessment to identify learning targets, plan activities, and monitor the child’s progress to revise instruction as needed
- practitioners use assessment tools with sufficient sensitivity to detect child progress, especially for the child with significant support needs
- practitioners report assessment results so that they are understandable and useful to families
ID settings and situations that the child is in daily that provide opportunities
- everyday activity examples
- observe the child’s participation in everyday (family, classroom, or community) activities and routines
- query the child’s primary caregivers (parents, teachers, etc.)
ID settings and situations that the child is in daily that provide opportunities: everyday activity examples
- bathing
- going out
- bedtime/naptime preparation
- hanging out with family
- diapering/toileting
- household tasks
- dressing
- laundry
- getting up in the morning
- park visit
- mealtime/eating
- reading
- mealtime preparation
- shopping
- outside play
- TV/video/computer
ID materials and interactions that allow child to maintain engagement and achieve competence in a task
- strengths
- preferences
multidisciplinary assessment team
- referral (not much a part of this)
- role of the service coordinator: intake
- EI occupational therapist
- developmental services provider
- EI licensed clinical social worker
- EI music therapist
- EI physical therapist
standardized assessments: potential pros
- reliable, valid
- compares child to peers that completed same assessment
- can be used to dx language disorder
- more easily understood by other, related professionals, public
standardized assessments: cons
- decontextualized
- formal, structured, inauthentic
- can be difficult for some kids to complete
- not useful it writing tx objectives
- can’t always be used alone to identify a language disorder
- underestimate abilities of children who are culturally and linguistically diverse
cut scores: sensitivity
what proportion of people who have language disorder are correctly identified by the test? (true positives)
cut scores: specificity
what proportion of people who do not have the condition are correctly identified by the test?
cut scores: positive predictive power
the probability that those with language disorder will be identified as having a language disorder
cut scores: negative predictive power
the probability that those without language disorder will be identified as not having language disorder
cut scores: goal
balanced sensitivity and specificity (or PPP and NPP) to maximize diagnostic accuracy
criterion-referenced tests do not compare
an individual’s performance to anyone else’s
criterion-referenced tests: purpose
- ID what a child can and cannot do compared to a predefined criterion
- how does the child compared to an expected level of performance?
- compared to own performance at different times and obtain baseline score and then re-administer at a later date
criterion-referenced tests compare a student’s knowledge and skills against
a predetermined standard, cut score, or other criterion
norm-referenced tests compare a student’s performance against
the performance of their peers
criterion-referenced tests are more helpful in ___ ___ ___ than NR tests
setting treatment goals
CR tests are less ___ and less ___ compared to NR tests
- structured, decontextualized
- may be easier for kids who have limited attention, easily distracted, behavioral issues to complete
commercially available CR tests
- The Rossetti Infant-Toddler Scale
- Autism diagnostic interview-revised
- ages and stages questionnaires
- focus on the outcomes of communication under 6
CR tests can also be clinician-developed and informal
- formulate the specific clinical question
- select stimulus items 20 pictures showing action
- formulate instructions, tell me what the person is doing
clinician-developed CR tests: formulate the specific clinical question
does George use the morpheme “-ing” correctly in conversation?
clinician-developed CR tests: select stimulus items 20 pictures showing action
- identify desired response
- sentences with V + ing
clinician-developed CR tests: formulation instructions
- develop decision, making guidelines
- pass if -ing is used in 16 or more sentences
- administer the informal measure
- record and re-administer at a later date
dynamic assessment: ZPD
- learner can do unaided
- learner can do with guidance (zone of proximal development)
- learner can do
dynamic assessment: typical development
- performs below what is expected during testing
- performs within normal limits after mediated learning
dynamic assessment: atypical development (disorder)
- performs below what is expected during testing
- continues to perform below normal limits even after mediated learning
questionnaires
- compliment formal assessment measures/data, and provide additional info about child’s level of functioning
- culturally, linguistically sensitive
- some have same psychometric properties of good standardized, norm-referenced tests
screenings
- identify children who are at-risk (prioritize sensitivity)
- determine whether it’s a difference or a disorder, and can be tricky for linguistically, culturally diverse children
- do the child’s language skills differ enough from age-matched peers’ to warrant further investigation?
communication matrix
- for SLPs, educators, parents
- means of documenting expressive communication skills of children with severe/multiple disabilities
- online questions and videotaped examples
communication matrix: describe the behaviors used to communicate 4 different functions
- refuse things
- obtain things
- engage in social interaction
- seek information
ex: the informant would indicate what behaviors that target individual would use to communicate the message “obtain more of something”
results presented in a matrix that describes levels of communication, emerging or mastered, for each of the 4 functions (levels)
- levels 1-2: preintentional
- levels 3-4: intentional presymbolic
- levels 5-6: symbolic communication
