Evaluation Areas

When a Speech and Language Pathologist evaluates a child, the child’s development in a number of different skill areas is considered. The three major areas that a Speech and Language Pathologist evaluates are, 1. Speech (articulation), 2. Receptive Language, and 3. Expressive Language.

Each one of these areas is comprised of many sub-skills. Please remember that the level of skill being evaluated will very according to the age of the child.

The following are the three different areas that are looked at during an evaluation:

Shelly and Child
  1. Speech or Articulation: In evaluating speech or articulation, the evaluator will assess how a child uses the oral structures to form sounds to produce words, phrases and sentences intelligibly. Common terms you may hear regarding this area includes:
    Developmental Apraxia -
    “Developmental Apraxia” is a condition which is considered to be a neurologically based motor speech disorder. A child with developmental apraxia exhibits difficulties in coordinating the oral motor movements necessary to produce and combine speech sounds in order to form words, phrases and sentences intelligibly. The majority of children who have been diagnosed with this disorder show no brain abnormalities.
    Verbal Dyspraxia or Developmental Dyspraxia -
    With verbal or developmental dyspraxia, the child is able to string words together. However, with an increase in length, rate or complexity of utterance, intelligibility decreases or breaks down. The child has difficulty combining speech sounds in order to form clear words, phrases and sentences. Verbal or developmental dyspraxia, like developmental apraxia, is a motor speech disorder.
  2. Expressive Language: “Expressive Language” refers to how a child uses language to express his or her needs, wants and thoughts. For example, is the child able to express what he or she wants to say in a smooth, organize and fluent manner? How well developed is the child’s vocabulary? In assessing expressive language, the evaluator will consider word retrieval skills, and appropriate use of grammatical structures, as well as pragmatics (social skills).
  3. Receptive Language Skills: “Receptive Language Skills” refers to the child’s ability to process language (that is, the ability to understand and comprehend what is being said). Receptive language functioning is broken down into hierarchal levels including:
    1. Auditory attention -
      Example:
      Eye contact, energy level, etc.
    2. Auditory Recognition -
      Example:
      “Point to ______.”, “Point to the ______ and the ______.”, “Point to the one you eat.”
    3. Auditory Retention -
      Example:
      1:3 - Point to the dog, cake, car
      2:2 - Give me the ball, turn over the shoe
    4. Auditory Comprehension -
      Example:
      Yes | No - concrete
      Yes | No and Either | or with a picture
      “wh” questions and interchange

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