Ages 3 through 9. This instrument includes a variety of criterion-referenced measures for assessing the structural and functional aspects of communication. The tasks can be used to assess the child's ability to understand basic concepts, communicate basic needs, follow oral directions, retell short stories, etc. The manual provides information about how to use the instrument to identify children with communication disorders. The instrument assesses skills that are important for effective social interactions and also skills relevant to classroom academic standards.
The instrument is organized into the following three sections:
- Criterion-Referenced Assessment of Spanish Communication. These tasks are designed primarily for use in assessing the communication skills of children between 3 and 8 years of age. They also may be used in the assessment of older children who demonstrate significant delays.
- Assessment of Speech Sound Production. Speech sound production is assessed as the student labels pictures. This articulation task is designed primarily as a quick screening measure. The results can be used in conjunction with a more comprehensive inventory (e.g., Spanish Articulation Measures) to plan intervention programs.
- Communication Sampling and the Identification of Communication Disorders. Guidelines for the collection and analysis of natural communication samples are included in this section.
Spanish Language Assessment Procedures provides information about performance in listening, speaking. and verbal reasoning skills. Examples of skills assessed are listed below:
- Labels pctures of common objects
- Labels body parts
- Labels colors
- Describes noun functions
- Comprehends basic spatial concepts
- Describes differences between objects
- Makes inferences
- Predicts outcomes
- Follows instructions in sequence
- Retells short stories
- Initiates verbal interactions
- Sustains topic of discussion
- Takes turns during verbal interactions
- Communicates basic needs
- Requests information
- Requests action
- Contributes relevant information during classroom discussions
- Describes experiences accurately
- Describes events sequentially
- Expresses opinions
- Creates stories
- Uses voice appropriately
When identifying children with communication disorders, it is important to identify specific problems that are being experienced as language is used functionally for communication purposes. Spanish Language Assessment Procedures is designed to provide this information. Some skills are assessed using structured tasks and others are assessed based on observation.
Bilingual students should never be diagnosed as having communication disorders based solely on scores from norm-referenced tests. It is important to identify the specific problems that the student is experiencing as language is used in various contexts. Rather than providing you with a "score," that is often difficult to interpret, Spanish Language Assessment Procedures provides descriptive information that helps answer questions such as the following:
- What basic conversational strategies does the child have?
- Is the child able to follow the types of instructions commonly presented in the classroom?
- Is the child able to label and describe the functions of familiar items?
- Is the child able to give verbal solutions for simple problems?
- Is the child able to describe experiences in a logical sequence with sufficient detail?
- Can the child retell a simple story in sequential order?
State academic standard include many of the skills assessed in this inventory. Therefore, the result can be helpful in meeting the requirements of No Child Left Behind legislation.
Speech-language pathologists, special education teachers, and bilingual specialists will all find this instrument to be a valuable resource in assessing the needs of special learners. The complete kit includes the manual, a package of language record forms, and a package of articulation record forms.
