Language I Final

A comprehensive eval aims to

Identify genuine disorders (vs. language, dialectal, or cultural differences), Whether dysfunctions are global or domain-specific, Identify the client’s strengths and baseline functions, Determine priorities, Develop a service plan for clients and caregivers

how does dynamic assessment differ from non-referenced assessment

a norm-referenced takes a snapshot in time and does not tell you how a child approaches learning a language 

 good assessment tool should be

Valid, reliable, accurate in detecting and diagnosing disorders, authentic, whenever possible

what is an acceptable level of specificity and sensitivity for a non-referenced assessment

80%

Under-identification and over-identification of disorders relate to ________ and ________, two critical concepts in assessment that we will discuss later

sensitivity; specificity

Conceptually speaking, how can we determine the validity and accuracy of an assessment?

•We must know the symptoms of the target disorders

low sensitivity

under identified

low specificity

over identifying 

What is the eligibility criteria of DLD

• What are clients’ current levels of communicative functions relative to age-matched peers? 

• What are clients’ current levels of cognitive ability (mental age)

• Are there other co-occurring issues (sensory dysfunctions; neurological disorders)

What is an authentic assessments

It indicates what clients can do and actually knows, It provides information about the functional behavior of clients in a natural/typical setting, It attempts to gather information from all individuals who interact with the clients regularly

in a non-referenced assessment which score is not appropriate 

age equivalent 

What is the function of a screening

• To capture all children at risk of DLD

  • Are caregivers' concerns valid?

  • Do caregivers describe the problems accurately?

  • To develop a working hypothesis about the disorders

what is the function of an informal assessment

To obtain a board understanding about clients’ communicative functions (mean length of utterances, cognitive functions, interactivity, behaviors and emotional regulation

what is the function of a standardized norm-referenced assessment

To confirm diagnoses and establish eligibility

What is the function of a criterion-referenced assessment 

To determine baseline functions, select goals, and specific targets in intervention

What is the function of goal monitoring

Stop working on the goal if

• The goal is met

• No progress (plateau) and no effect from tx modification

• Child is making progress that has nothing to do with tx 

What is the primary purposes of screening

Fulfill federal and state regulations, Identifying unrecognized problems in a fast and brief manner, Get a working hypothesis about the nature of the concerns and deficits

What is examples of screeners that involve clients active participation

Fluharty preschool speech and language screening test

_______ _________ ALWAYS reflect the theoretical framework held by the test developers.

Test constructions

What are the criteria for a good diagnostic instrument

Standardization, A valid theoretical model of communication, The tasks should be valid and reliable, Good diagnostic accuracy (Sensitivity and specificity), Small standard error of measure (Direct impact on the “estimate” of the child’s “true” score)

What are the standard scores for mild, moderate, severe, normal 

normal = 100, mild = 78-85, moderate = 70-77, severe = 70 or below 

What is the percentile ranks of normal, mild, moderate, severe

normal = 50, mild = 16, moderate = 7, severe = 2 or below

What is sensitivity

impaired is diagnosed as impaired (true positive)

What is specificity

the normal is diagnosed as normal (true negative)

What are the three factors that influence sensitivity and specificity 

1. The performance gaps between DLD and TD (mean difference in scores)

2.  the within group variations of DLD and TD (standard deviations/individual differences)

3. The cut-off point clinicians use to determine DLD (criterion of disorder) 

What two factors relate to the degree of overlap between DLD and TD

perfoamnce gaps between DLD and TD, within group variations of DLD and TD

performance gaps that are great between DLD and TD =

high sensitivity and specificity

smaller variations of DLD and TD = 

high sensitivity and specificity 

There is a trade off between sensitivity and specificity. Should a screener focus more on sensitivity or specificity?

sensitivity

What does moving the cut-off point do

the cut off point specificity/sensitivity goes up while sensitivity /specificity goes down 

do you want the group mean big or small

big

Is lowering the cut-off point easier or more difficult to pass

easier

Should standardization of diagnostic tool include subjects or related disorders in the norming sample?

no

A more reliable test has a _______ SEM than a less reliable one

smaller

what confidence interval has the largest range

95%

Compared to 90% C.I, 95% C.I suggests a ______ level of confidence that the “range of score” will contain the true score 

higher

Repeatedly, 95% C.I should span a ______ range than 90% C.I

greater

Common measures in norm-reference assessment

Raw score - the number of answers correct, Standard score, Percentile rank, Age-equivalent score

if you are seeing a bilingual client can you translate the items on an assessment and make a diagnosis

yes, but you cannot make a diagnosis

Is a standardized test always more useful than a non-standardized test?

no

How does criterion-referenced assessment differ from norm-referenced assessment?

not standardized, measure a Childs mastery of a skill, evaluates individuals performance based on predetermined criteria

The goal of a criterion-referenced assessment is to establish

baseline function and targets

________ and ________ have strong influence on child’s performance

context and routines

What are some ways to elicit production

patterned elicitations, role play, re-tell a story

are direct translations problematic in an assessment

yes

What is the only assessment category that is not a static procedure 

dynamic assessment 

what is a dynamic assessment

what the client can do alone vs. what a client can do with support

Dynamic assessments help to determine language _________ vs. language ________, especially in culturally diverse population

differences and disorders

would a criterion assessment be best with familiar items or novelty items 

novel instruction or items 

Successful fast mapping does not necessarily rule out DLD why?

still need to check morphosyntax and other language skills (narrative)

Why do we conduct dynamic assessments

to determine if the client has a language difference or disorder, to estimate ZPD

Learning is ______-_____, context-specific performance, generalization is _____-_____, context independent occurrence of the target behavior 

short-term, long-term

is learning easier than generalization?

not necessarily

What are the components of feedback

expplicity vs implicit, frequency, timing, feedback for accuracy or errors

True or false: Are predictable instructions and practice a more effective intervention strategy than instructions and practice that vary?

false

True or false: Is massed practice (focused stimulation) a more effective intervention strategy than spaced-distributed practice?

False

true or false: Is repeated practice (reading a passage repetitively) the best way to learn new information? The more feedback, the better?

false

true or false: Is more feedback always better?

false

true or false: Is more therapy always better?

false

True or false: Telegraphic utterances (push ball mommy sock) should not be provided as input for children with limited language

true

What are the four purposes of intervention 

to modify or eliminate the underlying problems, to modify the disorder in one or more ways, to teach compensatory strategies instead of modifying underlying problems or specific language behaviors, to modify the environment in one or more ways 

What are the four considerations with target selection

Desirable difficulties, Effects on communicative effectiveness, Child’s current abilities in other language and cognitive domains related to the target skills, Teachability of the target skills (secondary considerations)

Zone of proximal development emphasizes the importance of "________ _________”

desirable difficulties

ZPD indexes the distance between the child’s ________ level of independent functioning and ________ level of performance

current and potential 

rank in order from highest priority to lowest:

1. Forms and functions the child uses in >90% of required (obligatory) contexts

2. Forms and functions the child uses in 50 to 90% of required contexts

3. Forms and functions the child uses in 10 to 50% of required contexts 

4. Forms and functions the child uses in 1 to 10% of required contexts

3, 4, 2, 1

What are some important characteristics while using dynamic assessments to determine ZPD

learnability of skills, rate and quality of learning, modifiability of the client

What does “communicative effectiveness” mean when setting language therapy goals?

It refers to whether the target will help the client communicate more effectively or convey information they couldn’t before intervention.

Which is more communicatively effective:
(a) correcting “he going” → “he is going”
(b) working on correct pronoun usage?

(a) “he is going” may be more effective because it directly impacts grammatical accuracy and clarity in real communication.

Why are not all goals equally important in therapy?

Some goals contribute more to functional communication—helping clients express complex or necessary information more effectively.

Why are prepositions clinically important?

They help express relationships between objects, places, and people, improving clarity and sentence complexity.

Why is teaching relative clauses clinically important?

They allow clients to combine ideas and describe things more precisely.
(Example:
“I like watching movies. I like fun and exciting movies.” →
“I like watching movies that are fun and exciting.”)

Why is teaching conjunctions clinically important?

Conjunctions help clients combine ideas logically, showing cause, contrast, or sequence.
(Example:
“I brought the umbrella. It will rain.” →
“I brought the umbrella because it will rain.”)

Why might teaching “and” be less clinically significant than teaching “because”?

Because” expresses causation and relationships between ideas, improving sentence complexity and meaning. “And” simply connects two ideas without showing how they relate.

Example comparison – Why is “because” more complex than “and”?

• “The boy is running, and the dog is barking.” → adds information

• “The boy is running because the dog is barking.” → shows a cause-effect relationship, enhancing meaning.

When might “and” still be clinically useful?

When combining related actions or ideas naturally.
(Example: “The boy is running and jumping.”
This shows the ability to join related verbs, improving sentence variety and flow.)

Why is it important to consider a child’s current abilities in other speech, language, and cognitive domains when selecting target skills?

Because progress in one domain may depend on skills in others. For example, weaknesses in articulation or cognition can affect morphosyntax or vocabulary learning.

What speech sounds are often required for accurate use of plurals and 3rd-person singular forms?

/s/, /z/, and consonant clusters (e.g., books, boats, ships, kicks).

How can derivational morphemes pose challenges for children?

They often make words longer or more complex (e.g., happy → happiness), which can cause pronunciation or processing difficulty.

What are “teachability” considerations when choosing target skills?

Factors that influence how easily a skill can be demonstrated, practiced, and reinforced in therapy and natural contexts.

What does “ease of demonstration” or “concreteness” mean when teaching target skills?

Concrete or imageable targets (like nouns) are easier to demonstrate and teach than abstract ones (like some verbs or grammatical forms).

What does “readiness for clinical activities” refer to?

How easily a skill can be incorporated into therapy sessions — how accessible and organized the activities can be.

Why is the availability of a target skill in a child’s natural environment important?

Skills that occur frequently in the child’s daily life provide more opportunities for practice and generalization.

Why should the clinician’s own experiences and competencies be considered when selecting targets?

Therapists should choose goals they can effectively model and support, ensuring high-quality, evidence-based intervention.

what does smart stand for

specific, measureable, attainable, relevant, timely

What are the four components of a measurable goal?

• Observable behavior (what the client will do)

• Criteria (how well they will do it)

• Conditions (under what circumstances)

• Quality of observable outcomes (what counts as acceptable performance)

What does the observable behavior component of a measurable goal describe?

The specific, visible, and measurable action the client will perform.

Examples of measurable/observable verbs to use in goals:

Imitate, point, identify (objects/pictures), name (n items), describe, answer, retell, initiate, make a choice, maintain.

Examples of non-measurable verbs to avoid in goals:

Participate, enjoy, listen, know.

What are the different types of criteria used in measurable goals?

Accuracy, Speed, Duration, Frequency, Consistency

What does “quality of observable outcomes” describe?

What counts as acceptable or correct performance — how the skill should look or sound.

Examples of quality measures in a goal:

Correct grammatical structures, Correct word order or sequence, Limited redirections/repetitions, Verbal, gestural, or picture exchange responses, Choosing correctly among 2–3 options

What does the conditions component of a goal specify?

The context, support level, and environment in which the behavior will occur.

Why is including conditions important in measurable goals?

It ensures the goal reflects realistic settings and support levels, helping track progress toward independence

What are the three types of intervention processes

clinician-directed, child-centered, hybrid 

What is Drill in speech-language intervention?

Highly structured teaching method using imitation and repeated practice, Focus: accuracy and consistency through repetition.

What is Drill Play and how does it differ from Drill?

Same as Drill but adds a motivating event before the training stimulus (e.g., child chooses a sticker).

What is Modeling in intervention?

Clinician (and sometimes a partner) provides intensive examples (“model bombardment”) of the target form.

What are Clinician Imitations used for?

Clinician imitates the child’s gestures or utterances, Reinforces verbal communication, increases exposure, and creates feedback opportunities.

What is Parallel Talk?

Clinician narrates what the child is doing in real time.

What is Self-Talk?

• Clinician narrates their own actions while interacting with the child