Speech Language Assessment

Speech Language Assessment

Explain why the comprehension competencies of young children are challenging to measure.

Become familiar with techniques for standardized assessment of language comprehension.

you will do the following:

Review the language comprehension skills of the case studies for Johnathon, Josephine, and Robert. The case studies are located within this week’s chapter, Chapter 4 (on pp. 91-92).

For each case, discuss each patient’s comprehension of single words, semantic relationships, and syntax.

Also include in your discussion your interpretation of the assessment results for each case.

Submit assignment on a Word Document, with a cover page and reference page.

Your writing should be no more than 2 pages long (after being double spaced).

CASE STUDY: ROBERT (LT)

A Child with Bona Fide Language Impairment at Age 27 Months

Robert has displayed a number of developmental concerns, only one of which is language learning. Diagnosed with developmental delay by a physician in his first-year examination, Robert’s language comprehension development was not addressed in his history other than the mention of his ability to follow simple directions. Of some concern is the lack of definitive information provided regarding Robert’s hearing levels. Accurate/adequate hearing will supply Robert with not only the verbal information necessary to understand language, but also the context information necessary for understanding the more-subtle nuances of communicated messages.

Speech Language Assessment

Standardized testing on the CDI: Words and Gestures form (normally used for children somewhat younger than Robert) revealed that Robert’s receptive vocabulary was typical of an 18-to 24-month-old child. Results from the RITLS revealed a less mature picture, with his receptive language developmental age being closer to 1 year, although the report did note a scattering of skills up to the 21-to 24-month-old level. Because both receptive and expressive language competencies appear to be slow to develop, and given the pervasive delays observed in Robert’s other developmental areas, the prognosis for Robert to make significant gains without continued provision of dedicated, intensive speech-language therapy is not very positive.

Check tips on how to do your Nursing Assignments.

CASE STUDY: JOSEPHINE (LB)

A Late Talker at Age 22 Months

Josephine’s significant history included the observation that her receptive language was a relative strength. Although Josephine did not produce her first word until the age of 15 months, and her mother’s perception was that her daughter had a smaller expressive vocabulary than would be expected for her age, the child was reported to be following two-step commands. Note that the example given by the mother could be reflective of an overestimation of Josephine’s language comprehension: “Go to the family room and get your diaper.” If Josephine recognizes the word “diaper” and, as most children do, knows where they are kept, the first portion of the command is unnecessary. That is, when retrieving a diaper, Josephine will go to the family room whether told to or not. Thus, Josephine’s response to this particular two-step command may mean as little as comprehension of the word “diaper” and “locate the objects mentioned,” one of Chapman’s comprehension strategies.

Speech Language Assessment

According to her performance on the RITLS, Josephine’s receptive language abilities slightly exceeded those expected for her chronological age. This estimate included successful completion of tasks requiring responses to two-step commands. When comparing Josephine’s expressive and receptive test results, it is clear that her language comprehension abilities significantly exceed her language production abilities. This is a child whose caregivers may believe “she understands everything” partiy because of the discrepancy between receptive and expressive language and partly because of the facility with which her comprehension strategies are used. Clinicians should take care to explain to the parents that Josephine’s strength is certainly her understanding of language and that this strength will be used in therapy to help increase her expressive language abilities. Under no circumstances, however, should the parents be encouraged to believe that their child understands everything that is said to her: no 2-year-old does,

Research has demonstrated that children whose problems are confined to expressive language tend to make swifter language development gains than those with both receptive and expressive language needs (Thal et al., 2004). Because Josephine’s receptive language or language comprehension is a relative strength for her, this child’s ability to catch up to her same-age peers in terms of language development is more likely than that of another child who demonstrated both comprehension and expressive language deficits.

CASE STUDY: JOHNATHON (TD)

A Typically Developing Child at Age 25 Months

The speech-language evaluation report provided for the typically developing 2-year old, Johnathon, includes some information in the history paragraph about the child’s receptive language abilities. As noted in the report, Johnathon was able to follow age-appropriate directions provided without contextual support. Although there might be a problem with the example used (ie., “Bring me your bottle” is fairly stereotypical of what one would be asked to do with a bottle), at least the clinician viewed comprehension as important enough to inquire about it on the front end of the evaluation. The section chronicling Johnathon’s receptive language could have been supplemented with nonstandardized tasks that would determine the extent to which the child used comprehension strategies in response to requests for actions or objects.

Speech Language Assessment

The corriment that Johnathon understands new words rapidly should be clarified. An example or two would be helpful here. Does this comment refer to Johnathon penchart for fast mapping? That is, is he likely to use a word correctly after being exposed to it only one or two times? We know that children who are considered good at fast mapping typically show accelerated word learning. These children are risk-takers in terms of language learning. Their ability to observe how a word is used is keen, which means they can pick out salient features of the verbal and nonverbal context to generalize the word to future circumstances. Also, they do not seem to be shy about trying out new words.

A comparison between the child’s receptive and expressive language abilities demonstrated that Johnathon’s skills were closely aligned; that ‘s, there was no discrepancy between receptive and expressive competencies, as indicated by the RITLS (Rossetti, 1990). We have already discussed the importance of not making assumptions about expressive language skills based on receptive skills and vice versa,