SLHS Final

Assessment

The process of gathering information to describe a child's communication and determine if a language disorder exists.

Screening

A brief check to see if a child might have a problem.

Diagnostic Evaluation

A comprehensive process to determine if a disorder is present and its nature.

Sensitivity

The proportion of people who have a language disorder and are correctly identified by the test (true positives).

Specificity

The proportion of people who do not have a language disorder and are correctly identified by the test (true negatives).

Cut-off Score

A score on an assessment used to differentiate children with a disorder from those with typical development.

Standardized, Norm-Referenced Assessment

Tests designed to compare a child's performance to a normative sample of peers.

Mean Length of Utterance (MLU)

The average number of morphemes per utterance calculated by dividing the total number of morphemes by the total number of utterances.

Intellectual Disability Criteria

1. Significant limitations in intellectual functioning (IQ below 70). 2. Significant limitations in adaptive behavior. 3. Originates before age 18.

Adaptive Functioning

The ability to act independently and responsibly as others of the same age in everyday life.

Progressive Neurological Diseases

Diseases such as ALS or Alzheimer's where the intervention goal is to maintain current levels of functional communication.

Facilitation

Accelerating the rate of learning a skill the child would eventually learn.

Induction

The intervention is responsible for the child learning the skill.

Maintenance

Preserving a skill that would otherwise be lost.

Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD)

The distance between what a child can do alone and what they can do with assistance, important for targeting skills in therapy.

Child-Centered Intervention

Clinician follows the child's lead in natural play.

Clinician-Directed Intervention

Clinician chooses materials and targets.

Hybrid Approach to Intervention

Combines child-centered and clinician-directed approaches, focusing on specific goals within naturalistic activities.

Total Communication

A philosophy encouraging the use of every available means to communicate, including signs, oral speech, and gestures.

Multimodal Communication

The idea that all people use multiple modes to communicate, including facial expressions and body language.

Function Communication Training (FCT)

A behavioral intervention used to replace maladaptive behaviors with functional communication.

Visual Supports

Tools like visual schedules or picture cards that help make abstract language more concrete for children with ID.