Chapter 3: Assessment of Socio-Communicative Skills in Infants and Toddlers

Question 1

___ identification of socio-communicative delay is imperative for maximum improvement in the communicative status of infants and toddlers

Answer 1

early

note from class: efficacy of EI services is tied to age of identification

Question 2

assessment allows the EI to identify whether a delay exists, determine whether intervention is needed, identify child and family strengths, and plot an ___ course of intervention

Answer 2

appropriate

note from class: key concept here is appropriate interventions

Question 3

true or false: ongoing assessment of communicative skills and abilities affords the EI an opportunity to determine which program of intervention is most effective

Answer 3

true

note from class: key concept here is program effectiveness

Question 4

true or false: the main goal of the EI is to diagnose, following the medical model of disability

Answer 4

false, attaching specific labels to children las little to contribute to specific intervention activities

in other words - the goal of the EI is to continually assess, not diagnose

Question 5

models of ___ is described by the following:

historical model : child exhibits delay due to past event(s) :: current model : child at risk for delay due to current and controllable factors

Answer 5

causation

Question 6

true or false: it is possible for a combination of historical and mixed elements to be present in the same child

Answer 6

true

Question 7

___ is defined as “any activity, either formal or informal that is designed to elicit accurate and reliable samples of infant-toddler behavior upon which inferences relative to developmental skill status may be made”

Answer 7

assessment

Question 8

choose: ( formal / informal ) assessment : use of norm-referenced, standardized criteria :: ( formal / informal ) assessment : use of developmental profiles and checklists

Answer 8

formal, informal

Question 9

assessment is any ___ that gathers information about a child’s communicative behaviors

Answer 9

activity

Question 10

true or false: conducting a caregiver interview is negligible to developing a plan of care

Answer 10

false, it is crucial!

although parents may not be able to interpret a child’s communicative behaviors, their objective observations are helpful to the examiner

Question 11

a ___ allows the EI to become familiar with a child’s health concerns and how these concerns affect the development of effective communication skill

Answer 11

medical records report

Question 12

the three skills for effective assessment include:

Answer 12

1. to elicit
2. to observe
3. to interpret

each skill rests with the assessor

Question 13

true or false: the key to assessment is choosing the right test

Answer 13

false

the key to assessment is being a competent assessor

Question 14

a test, no matter how complicated to administer or score, is a ___ system designed to collect samples of ___

Answer 14

simple, behavior

Question 15

describe the information the following question is trying to obtain in a developmental screener for a parent:

what is your (the parent’s) main concern for the child?

Answer 15

a short, less than 3-minute description of the child’s area(s) of delay according to the parent

Question 16

describe the information the following question is trying to obtain in a developmental screener for a parent:

what does the child like? what toys do they play with?

Answer 16

preferred items / activities to be used as reinforcement in therapy

Question 17

describe the information the following question is trying to obtain in a developmental screener for a parent:

how is your child currently communicating wants and needs?

Answer 17

nature of communicative behaviors (maladaptive behaviors, gestural, verbal mands) 
function of behaviors (access, escape, attention)

for example - are they crying to gain dad’s attention? do they throw a tantrum when denied access to toys?

Question 18

describe the information the following questions is trying to obtain in a developmental screener for a parent:

how is: feeding? crawling / walking?
what were their first words? when were first words acquired?

Answer 18

developmental milestones

the EI may also address other areas of development (social, self-help, etc.)

Question 19

narrow scoring criteria, lack of predictive ability (for ages under 3), and scoring difficulties are all limitations of ___ tests

Answer 19

norm-referenced

EIs are straying away from these types of tests because they are norm-referenced to populations older than 3 years

Question 20

name of the type of test whose goal is to infer whether a sample of behaviors, obtained during an assessment, reflects age-appropriate expectations

Answer 20

criterion-referenced

Question 21

name of the setting for assessment that occurs in the home; emphasizes natural environments and generalization

Answer 21

home-based

Question 22

name of the setting for assessment that occurs in schools, hospitals, and clinics / centers; EI has access to staff, other parents, and specialized services

Answer 22

center-based

Question 23

name of the team model of assessment that involves the child in structured and unstructured play situations

Answer 23

transdisciplinary play-based

Question 24

name of the team model of assessment that involves multiple professionals of differing disciplines; emphasizes team / holistic approach to EI

Answer 24

arena

Question 25

name of the two specific communication assessment domains focusing on the dynamic between infant and caregiver

Answer 25

1. infant-caregievr interaction

2. infant-caregiver attachment

Question 26

name of the specific communication assessment domain that involves a child’s play behaviors relative to the development of communication skills

Answer 26

assessment of play

Question 27

name of the specific communication assessment domain that involves a child’s intentions, discourse, and role taking relative to their communication

Answer 27

assessment of pragmatics

Question 28

name of the specific communication assessment domain that involves a child’s gestural behaviors relative to the development of communication skills

Answer 28

assessment of gesture

Question 29

name of the kind of gestural language that assesses the child’s ability to comprehend language apart from nonlinguistic cues

Answer 29

language comprehension

Question 30

name of the kind of gestural language that assesses the child’s ability to produce sounds, use many words meaningfully, and formulate sentences / questions

Answer 30

language expression