posted on 2020-04-07, 19:14authored byLizbeth H. Finestack, Bobbi Rohwer, Lisa Hilliard, Leonard Abbeduto
Purpose: Conducting in-depth grammatical analyses based on language samples can be time consuming. Developmental Sentence Scoring (DSS) and the Index of Productive Syntax (IPSyn) analyses provide detailed information regarding the grammatical profiles of children and can be conducted using free computer-based software. Here, we provide a tutorial to support clinicians’ use of computer-based analyses to aid diagnosis and develop and monitor treatment goals.
Method: We analyzed language samples of a 5-year-old with developmental language disorder and an adolescent with Down syndrome using computer-based software, Computerized Language Analysis. We focused on DSS and IPSyn analyses. The tutorial includes step-by-step procedures for conducting the analyses. We also illustrate how the analyses may be used to assist in diagnosis, develop treatment goals focused on grammatical targets, and monitor progress on these treatment goals.
Conclusion: Clinicians should consider using Computerized Language Analysis’s IPSyn and DSS analyses to support grammatical language assessments used to aid diagnosis, develop treatment goals, and monitor progress on these treatment goals.
Supplemental Material S1. Case 1: PS’s conversation sample in CHAT format.
Supplemental Material S2. Case 2: SH’s conversation sample in SALT format.
Supplemental Material S3. Case 2: SH’s narrative sample in SALT format.
Finestack, L. H., Rohwer, B., Hilliard, L., Abbeduto, L. (2020). Using Computerized Language Analysis to evaluate grammatical skills. Language, Speech, and Hearing Services in Schools, 51(2), 184-204. https://doi.org/10.1044/2019_LSHSS-19-00032
Publisher Note: This article is part of the Forum: Morphosyntax Assessment and Intervention for Children.
Funding
Portions of this work were supported by Grants R03DC011365 (L. Finestack), R01HD024356 (L. Abbeduto), R01HD074346 (L. Abbeduto), and U54HD079125 (L. Abbeduto) awarded from the National Institutes of Health.