Flexible Use of Language Sampling to Measure Social Communication Skills: A Tutorial
Nichole MulveyPurpose:
Language sample analysis is well established as an ecologically valid means of measuring foundational language skills. Social communication is a set of skills that can be difficult to measure and monitor for progress. This tutorial outlines how clinicians can adapt current language sample practices to authentically target social communication, increase efficiency in identifying areas of concern, and plan specific therapy targets.
Method:
This tutorial will focus on defining measurable social communication skills as well as adaptations for increasing social communication during language sampling. Examples of elicitation prompts are included. A case study example demonstrates social bidding and responses used to aid decision making for intervention.
Conclusions:
Socially focused language sampling can be a useful tool for authentic assessment and progress monitoring of social communication differences in school-age children. Flexible, minor adaptations made by the speech-language pathologist can increase opportunities to measure, rate, and address key social communication skills often associated with difficulties in the academic environment and often missed by standardized, norm-referenced assessment tools.