Pragmatic Assessment

Question 1

why is it important to assess pragmatic language (3 reasons)

Answer 1

1. shows us whether our clients are stronger or weaker pragmatically relative to their skills in semantics, syntax, and phonology
2. helps identify the pragmatic contexts in which new form should be practiced
3. helps identify particular problems in conversation and interaction

ex) child likes playing “house”..work on asking questions to play house

Question 2

social vs. nonsocial

Answer 2

proportion of utterances directed to the listener, rather than self directed

Question 3

topic initiation

Answer 3

the proportion of new topics introduced by the child rather than the adults

Question 4

topic appropriateness

Answer 4

the proportion of topics that are appropriate to the interpersonal context

Question 5

turns/topic

Answer 5

the number of turns in which the child can maintain a topic

Question 6

discourse management

Answer 6

the number of times the child interrupts another speaker or fails to take a turn appropriately

Question 7

contingency

Answer 7

the proportion of the child’s utterances that relate to or are contingent on the previous speaker’s remark

Question 8

discourse comprehension

Answer 8

the ability to understand a connected text, such as a story

Question 9

the verb elicitation probe

Answer 9

target= BOUNCE

prompt= clinician bounces ball on table “what’s happening?”

Question 10

the shy puppet activity for eliciting questions

Answer 10

TARGET= YES/NO

Prompt= do you like ice cream?

where do you live?

why are you sad?

Question 11

responsiveness and assertiveness in conversational skills rating scale

Answer 11

-a parent report measure for profiling conversation skills

Question 12

how do you assess an older child?

Answer 12

-criterion referenced assessment and behavioral observation (including classroom)

Question 13

assessing the need for an AAC for older child

Answer 13

• is the child frustrated with current level of communication?
• does he produce speech that is severely unintelligible?
• does he spontaneously use gestures to augment speech?

Question 14

how to evaluate functional communicative needs

Answer 14

• look closely and consider the child’s environment

- how well does the child’s current communication skills enable them to get what they need/want?

Question 15

2 patterns of language development in child with ASD who talk

Answer 15

1. language development is appropriate or superior for age

2. language is delayed in a way similar to that seen in other children with developmental language disorders