ASLP 5780 Exam 2 Study Guide

Criterion-Referenced Assessment

Tells you specifically what the client can or cannot do. The purpose is to evaluate proficiency, functionality, or mastery of a skill. Feels more like a therapy session 

Dynamic Assessment

Interactive approach to evaluation beyond static measurement of current abilities; incorporates the assessment of performance, learning potential, and responsiveness to intervention — making it one of the most powerful tools for developing insights; how the client performs with/without assistance and instruction

Zone of Proximal Development

Range between what a learner can do independently and what they can do with guidance/support 

6 Key Concepts of Dynamic Assessment 

Pretest, Mediated Learning Phase, Modifiability, Posttest, Transfer 

Intentionality 

One of the 4 components of the MLE teaching phase; to explain the skill being addressed for MLE; to create awareness of learning situations

Meaning

One of the 4 components of the MLE teaching phase; to help the client understand why the task (component and features) is important to learn 

Transcendence/Application

One of the 4 components of the MLE teaching phase; to promote generalization and how this skill will help in the future

Competence

One of the 4 components of the MLE teaching phase; to support client to plan for using skills/strategies; to encourage self-regulation and active participation in learning 

Modifiability

Describes a client’s responsiveness to support or instruction during the process; reflects the learner’s capacity to change, improve, or learn a new skill when provided with prompts, cues, or teaching strategies; quantified by describing the four main factors (responsiveness, effort required, engagement/behavior, transfer) 

PROMS (Patient-Reported Outcome Measures) 

Standardized tools or questionnaires used to gather a client’s perspective on their communication abilities, participation, and overall quality of life related to their speech and language challenges

Observational Assessment

A broad method where the SLP watches and records a client’s communication behaviors in natural or structured environments

Naturalistic

One of the three main approaches to observational assessment; watching the client during everyday activities without manipulating the environment; captures functional communication performance in real-life contexts absent of directed interactions 

Systematic and Contextual Analysis

One of the three main approaches to observational assessment; systematically and objectively observing the client engaged in a specific behavior in multiple situations; structured but flexible view of communication skills across contexts/settings

Simulated and Structured Play

One of the three main approaches to observational assessment; creating real-life simulations of communication situations through environmental manipulation; blends engagement of play with the intentionality of structured assessment (ex: observing speech sound production during activities that elicit specific phonemes)

Speech and Language Sampling 

Observation of real-time natural speech and language skills; supplements standardized tests to support diagnosis of a disorder

Conversational

A type of speech sample; assesses natural, spontaneous speech during dialogue

Narrative

A type of speech sample; storytelling, sequencing, expressive language, story retell, narrative structures, language cohesion 

Descriptive and expressive language

A type of speech sample; describing pictures to assess vocabulary, grammar, sentence structure, language cohesion

Play-based

A type of speech sample; assess spontaneous language and interactions during child-led play 

Reading Aloud

A type of speech sample; phonological awareness, articulation, fluency, prosody, and decoding skills

Procedural Language

A type of speech sample; expressing steps to a task or giving directions, language cohesion 

Fluency

A type of speech sample; disfluency patterns in connected speech

Pragmatic Interaction

A type of speech sample; topic maintenance and repair; turn-taking, and conversational responsiveness

Word Count Sample

One way to score speech samples; measures the total number of words spoken; quantifies output broadly 

MLU (Mean Length Utterance) 

One way to score speech samples; measures the average number of morphemes per utterance; equals the total number of morphemes divided by total utterances; tracks individual milestones

T-Unit Sample

One way to score speech samples; measures syntactic complexity through main clause plus all the subordinate clauses attached; assesses higher-level grammatical organization 

Screenings

Purpose is to quickly identify possible communication issues; usually criterion-reference and time-efficient

Artic and Phonological Processes Screenings

Type of screening; purpose is to quickly identify individuals who may have a communication disorder related to their speech sound system

Stimulability Screening

Type of screening; purpose is to assess a client’s ability to produce a correct production or an erred phoneme; provides prognostic information 

Orofacial Exam/Screening

Type of screening; purpose is to identify or rule out structural or functional factors contributing to communication difficulties

Voice Screening

Type of screening; check pitch, loudness, tone, endurance

Hearing Screening

Type of screening; check responsiveness or use audiometer

Clinical Settings

Focus is on understanding the presenting problem, underlying disorders, and the functional impact on the client’s communication or feeding/swallowing, quality of life; supports individualized, goal oriented intervention driven by assessment outcomes and functional impact; clients rely on third party payers (insurance); criterion and norm referenced assessments used 

Medical Settings 

Focus on understanding any underlying disorders or medical conditions; short, efficient sessions, clients rely on third party payers (insurance); fast paced environment for conducting assessment quickly; criterion and norm referenced assessments used; procedures aim to identify the nature, severity, and functional impact of the presenting concern 

Educational Settings

Focus is on how communication affects learning; strict timelines and IEP driven goals; initiated by parent, educational professional or teacher, with written consent from parent required before evaluation; funded through local and state education budgets, with federal funds supporting special education under IDEA; emphasizes academic performance and classroom impact rather than underlying medical causes; standardized tests most commonly used to compare students to normative academic expectations; shorter session length 

Response to Intervention (RTI)

Evaluates the presence of a learning disability based on the child’s response to scientific, research-based instruction; school-based model to identify learning/language needs through response to instruction

Collaborative Assessment

An assessment approach that emphasizes teamwork and shared-decision making among professionals, caregivers, and sometimes the client themselves