More Assessment Info

Some examples of assessments – s/z ratio (criterion referenced)•s/z ratio

▫Voice assessment▫Resperatory and phonatory efficiency▫/s/ & /z/ 3 times each as long as possible▫Longest s /longest z = s/z ration

1.0 – normal respiration/phonation 1.0 with shortened duration – ? Efficiency in

resp 1.2 or greater, possible vocal fold pathology

Examples – MLU calcuation (criterion-referenced)•Language sample = utterances & morphemes

▫Written down transcript of the child’s utterances

▫Add of # of utterances and # of morphemes in each utterance

▫Morphemes/utterances = MLU▫Need a sizable amount of utterances to gain an

more appropriate MLU▫Know developmental norms to understand

whether a kid’s MLU is delayed or not▫Perform cautiously

Behavioral Observation

•No predetermined standard•Helpful in measuring:

▫Presence or absence of a behavior▫Freq, rate, magnitude, or duration of its

occurrence▫Situations in which this behavior is likely to

occur•Both qualitative and quantitative•Can be in real-time or videotaped

Qualitative Observations

•Qualitative▫Prolonged observations by highly trained

observers▫Describe how a person approaches a task▫Error patterns▫Ability to self-correct▫Modifiability of the behavior▫Potential directions for effective

intervention

Quantitative Observations

•Make a list of behaviors you wish to observe, define those behaviors, and select context of observation

•Have recording system to measure▫Tally sheet▫Rating scale▫questionairre

•Ability to record feelings and attitudes•P.60 & 62 in book

Areas of Assessment - LanguageContent (Semantics)

vocabularyconceptslinkages of ideas

Formsyntaxmorphologyphonologyprosody- melody of speech

Use (pragmatics)interactional aspectsusing conversational rulescommunicative intents (request, protests, comments)perspective taking

Areas of Assessment - Language•Comprehension – (can’t directly observe

this)▫We must infer from behaviors▫“point to the picture’ “follow direction”▫Developmental milestones important▫Both standardized and nonstandardized

info is important

Areas of Assessment - Language• Expression - context matters, like in

comprehension• Communicative partners influence each other’s

productions• Measure:

▫Size and use of vocabulary, semantic relations in word combinations

▫Use of grammatical and morphonological structures▫Phonology▫Pragmatics▫Prosody▫ (labeling pictures, describing picture, defining

words, filling in blanks, constructing sentences, imitating sentences

Areas of Assessment – Motor Speech•Phonology and Articulation

▫Perception▫Production▫Motor structures▫Structured speech as well as spontaneous

speech

Areas of Assessment : Voice• Eval of individuals

▫Pitch▫Loudness▫Voice quality▫Resonance▫Speaking rate▫Phonation▫Respiration▫These are basically done through perceptual

tests followed by a videostroboscopy▫http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1jT81VH0D

Q0

Areas of Assessment - Fluency• Eval

▫ Speech behaviors▫ Client’s feelings and attitudes toward

communication and stuttering▫ Speech sample

Reading & conversational sample % of syllables and words stuttered Speech rate, timing duration of blocks, describing the

disfluencies▫ Types

Repetitions Prolongations Blocks Secondary characteristics

Areas of Assessment- Hearing• Early assessment

▫ Behavioral observation▫ Visual reinforcement audiometry▫ Play audiometry▫ Electrophysiological testing

ABR – records electrical activity from the Aud nerve OAE – how ear processes sounds (microphone &

speaker)• Later assessment

▫ Pure tone audiometry▫ Speech audiometry▫ Immittance testing - eardrum▫ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D9m2LImsgmQ&

feature=related▫ ALL SLP assessments should include a hearing

screen

Areas of Assessment – AAC & Dysphagia•Both require additional specialized

expertise as well as knowledge of various other tx and instrumentation

Other important areas – Team player• Cognitive – cognition & language are closely related

▫ Play assessments, Piagetian tasks, etc.▫ Adults – Mini Mental State exam

• Literacy▫ Western Aphasia Battery – adults▫ OWLS – Oral & Written Langauge Scales▫ Woodcock Language Proficiency Battery

• Social/emotional/behavioral▫ Interview▫ Vineland▫ Info gathering

• Motor functioning▫ Oral motor exam ▫ Team assessment

Planning for an Assessment

•Presenting problem? •Who referred? How is problem viewed?•What do you already know?•What do you want to find out during the

assessment? What data is missing that you need?

•How will you find out what you want to know? Tests, contexts, sequence of assessments

Steps in Assessment Process

What’s involved?• Data gathering – ‘preassessment phase”

▫ Case history▫ Family interview▫ Record review▫ Consult with other professionals

• Administration of assessment instruments• Scoring & Interpretation of data (assessment results

are combined with preassessment data to try to obtain a full picture of the individual)

• Severity (if disordered)• Prognosis• Recommendations• Share info with family• Clinical report

Challenges to Assessment•Clients can be:

▫Withdrawn, noncompliant, impulsive, overly active, have severe medical, psychological, or cognitive issues

•Setting can be▫Too restrictive, too distracting▫May take more than one context

•Time can be▫Too short▫May take more than one session

FINAL NOTES on Assessment

•Lots of ways to gather info on a client – no matter how difficult

•Assessments can only give a limited view of the client

•Assessments are a means to an end = the development of effective intervention plans to meet the individual needs of the clients.