Module 4

Words in the elements of a noun phrase

Initiator- begin the noun phrase and do not include sentence starters such as “well” and “oh”

• We might call noun phrase initiators noun phrase limiters because they constrain or limit what comes next

Adverbs and noun phrases modify the adjective that follows and are almost exclusively words such as “really” and “very”

Descriptors occur before the noun and consists of nouns such as “baseball” when used to describe another noun as in “baseball game” or “baseball glove”

• Dog in dog shelter or shoe in shoe store

Adjectives and adverbials occur after the noun and are used very infrequently by young children

• Adjectival ex: next door as in the boy next door

Verb phrase elements

Exception: When we have an embedded clause attached to the verb. This occurs with words such as “no”, “think”, “remember”, “forget”, and “said”

The verb phrase tell us what happened 

Verb phrase tenses determine the element of time and the relationship of elements in the sentence.

Elements of a verb phrase

Model Auxiliary- May, must, shall, will, might, can, should, would, could

Perfective Auxiliary- Have, has, had

BE verb- Am, Is, are, was, were, be, been

Negative- Not, n’t, never

Passive- Been, being

Verb- Run, eat, walk, have, see, write, throw

Prepositional phrase- On the floor

Noun phrase- Our old friend, the ball, a doctor

Noun phrase complement- Our old friend, a doctor

Adverb- Quickly, late

Adverbial phrase- On time

• May have wanted a cookie

• Should never throw the ball in the house

• Might have been walking to school

• Isn’t a doctor

• Was late

• Has been eaten by the dog

Two things you want to do for SUGAR

1. Support your suspicion of possible language impairment by looking more deeply

2. If you believe a language impairment exists you want to identify possible intervention targets

Don’t target MLU or other SUGAR metrics as an intervention goal

True

SLPs always need to go beyond a score or quantitative metrics

• We looked at the probability that typically developing children would use selected structures within 50-utterance samples using an 80% criterion

True

From science to art

Science

• Collection based on research

• Norms based on research

• Sub analysis based on research

Art

• Identifying intervention needs

• Finding resources

How long does it take to fill in a SUGAR sub-analysis?

~10-15 minutes

Steps for SUGAR

1. Compare the total for your sample in each column with expected total (note non-existent language features and low frequency features)

2. Check “notes” column to see errors and omissions

3. Look at sample carefully to see if opportunities for a language feature existed (For example, if all discussion was in present tense there may have been little opportunity for the child to use past tense -ed) 

Guidelines

Look for patterns of use

Look for other proof in standardized testing results

Probe missing language features

Check stimulability or learning through dynamic assessment

SUGAR limitations

One of several LSA tools, not the only one

SLPs are required to use multiple sources of diagnostic data 

Primarily a morphosyntactic measure of productivity that may not be appropriate for all children such as those with social communication disorder other pragmatic deficits

Pros of SUGAR

Free

Research-based

Quick and easy language sample analysis tool that can be used to identify language impairment and provide some direction for possible intervention

What is SUGAR?

Type of language analysis

Evidence based

Free to use

Uses only 50 utterances

Has age norms

Sub-analysis forms

Intervention resources

Founded by Dr. Robert Owen and Dr. Stacey Pavelko

How did SUGAR evolve?

Using the robust collection methods, Stacey and Bob collected language samples from 270 typically developing children ages 3;0-7;11 and analyzed these using MLU, and the other wild quantitative values

Basis for SUGAR

Recording sample

• Real time- transcribe what the child is saying while the child is talking

Sample and Transcription

Collecting a sample

• Most SLPs collect 50 utterances or less which you can do in about 10 minutes

• Avoid as many yes/no or product (one-word answer) questions as possible and to ask process questions (how did/do….) or use “tell me…” or “I wonder….” statements

SUGAR rapid transcription

• Think speed

• As mentioned, type only the child utterances

• Type in plain English as spoken by the child

• Omit punctuation to save time

• Do NOT embellish the child’s utterance

  • DO NOT add morphemes or words that are missing

MLU SUGAR (MLUS)

Calculating MLU

• Double the number of morphemes

  • Ex. 253 becomes 506

• Add two decimal places

  • Ex. 506 becomes 5.06 (that’s your MLU)

Sub-Analysis

Qualitative Analysis

• Elements of noun and verb phrases

• Sentence structure

• Prepositional and Infinitive phrases

• Prepositions

• Embedding and conjoining

• Subordinating

• Pronouns

• Conjunctions

Language Delay

Hitting milestones at a slower rate as compared to peers

Language disorder

Significant impairment, atypical, not explained solely by environmental factors

Late Language Emergence (LLE)

Expressive vocabulary <50 (less than)

Red flag: some are late bloomers

Late Bloomers

Children eventually catch up to peers