Diagnostic Decisions of Language Complexity Using Informal Language Assessment Measures
Rebecca Bawayan1, Jennifer A Brown2
1Department of Rehabilitation Sciences, Moravian University, Bethlehem, PA.
Language, Speech, and Hearing Services in Schools
|January 12, 2022
Summary
Speech-language pathologists (SLPs) decision-making in diagnosing language disorders requires objective data. Relying solely on listening or informal measures leads to inconsistent evaluations, highlighting the need for multiple data sources in clinical practice.
Area of Science:
- Speech-language pathology
- Clinical linguistics
- Child language acquisition
Background:
- Clinical decision-making in speech-language pathology is complex.
- Assessing children's language abilities involves evaluating narrative and expository discourse.
- School-based speech-language pathologists (SLPs) face challenges in accurate language assessment.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the clinical decision-making skills of school-based SLPs.
- To examine how different information sources influence SLPs' diagnostic decisions.
- To understand the role of narrative and expository discourse in language assessment.
Main Methods:
- Twenty-eight school-based SLPs participated.
- Participants rated language quality and service needs based on informal assessments.
- Data included listening perception, standardized narrative assessments, and language sample analysis.
Main Results:
- SLPs showed inconsistent ratings of language quality across different discourse samples.
- Decisions on service provision varied significantly based on the type of information provided.
- More SLPs recommended services when objective data (criterion-referenced scores, language sample analysis) were available.
Conclusions:
- Objective language measure data are crucial for reliable diagnostic decision-making.
- Real-time perception of language samples can be unreliable for assessing children's abilities.
- SLPs must use multiple, systematic data sources to minimize assessment variability.
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