Esch, Trad/VB AssessmentJuly 2012
PSU Nat’l Aut Conf
Copyright 2012 Barbara E. Esch. 1
Speech-Language Assessment:Why it needs a behavioral analysis
Barbara E. Esch, Ph.D.
National Autism ConferenceState College, Pennsylvania
July 31, 2012
Assessment Treatment
Languageskills
Otherskills
The primary goal of S-L assessment is to
provide treatment direction.
Esch, Trad/VB AssessmentJuly 2012
PSU Nat’l Aut Conf
Copyright 2012 Barbara E. Esch. 2
ErrorDescription
Treatmentdirection
(what to do)
Traditional S-L tests are based on the
assumption that language is a function of
_________________ and _______________.
Esch, Trad/VB AssessmentJuly 2012
PSU Nat’l Aut Conf
Copyright 2012 Barbara E. Esch. 3
Interestingly, non-language skills are not
typically described in ____________ terms.
They are generally assumed to be a
function of ____________________ and
_________________________.
A: The cabinet drawer was open
B: She bumped into the drawer
C: Her knee hurts
Because of their linguistic focus, traditional
S-L assessments describe errors in
____________________________.
Esch, Trad/VB AssessmentJuly 2012
PSU Nat’l Aut Conf
Copyright 2012 Barbara E. Esch. 4
Auditory word recognitionGrammatic completionAuditory discriminationDerivational adjectivesRelational vocabularySentence completionPhonemic analysis
Inflection verbsWord-findingPluralization
Sample skills areas on traditional S-L tests
NonverbalTest and author(s) Sub-test name or description Mand Echoic Tact IntraVB Textual Listener
Concepts & Following Directions xWord Structure x xRecalling Sentences xFormulated Sentences (x) x x (x)Word Classes 1 (ages 5-7) (x) (x) x xWord Classes 2 (ages 8-21) (x) (x) x xSentence Structure (x) (x) (x) xExpressive Vocabulary x xUnderstanding Spoken Paragraphs x
Phonological Awareness x (x)Word Associations Pb xNumber Repetition x (x)Familiar Sequences x (x)Rapid Automatic Naming xPragmatics Profile
Implied function of test itemsa
Clinical Evaluation of Language Fundamentals Ages 5-8(CELF-4)Semel et al. (2003)
Verbal
Table 5: Receptive-Expressive Language Tests
Esch et al. (2010). Speech and language assessment: A verbal behavior analysis. The Journal of Speech-Language Pathologyand Applied Behavior Analysis, 5, 166-191.
Ability to understand relationshipsbetween words that share avariety of functional andconceptual relationships
Interpret, conceptualize, organizeinformation to create meaning
Make connections between words
http://www.readingresource.net/teachingvocabulary.html
Relational vocabulary subtests
These words don’t pinpoint _______
_______________________________.
This risks:
______________________ (___________)
______________________ (___________)
Esch, Trad/VB AssessmentJuly 2012
PSU Nat’l Aut Conf
Copyright 2012 Barbara E. Esch. 5
Treatment direction for this kind of error?
Test item: Point to your nose.
Intervention?
Q: Which one is little?
A: Points to the baby
Q: What’s the opposite of big?
A: ---------
Test item performance
Failed
Passed
T: Say a sentence with theword running.T: He likes to run. He is ___.S: (no response)
Say or finish a sentencewith PP verb
T: What is he doing?S: Running
Label PP verb pix
Intervention?
Esch, Trad/VB AssessmentJuly 2012
PSU Nat’l Aut Conf
Copyright 2012 Barbara E. Esch. 6
Intervention?
Test item performance
Failed
Passed
T: What’s the opposite of big?S: (no response)
Tell opposite
T: Which one is little?S: Points to puppy
Point to opposite(comparisons)
Name some pets
1 cat, 2 ____ (cat or cats)?
What goes with cat - fork orwhiskers?
What word rhymes with ‘cat’
Say ‘catfish’ w/o saying ‘fish’
What animal says ‘meow’
Is a cat an animal?
Point to cat
Error described as...Fail on S-L assessment
Typical treatmentsbased on the assumption that the problem is a
defective or missing _______________________
Esch, Trad/VB AssessmentJuly 2012
PSU Nat’l Aut Conf
Copyright 2012 Barbara E. Esch. 7
Write the word ‘CAT’ cat
Heard Object SeenWord Word
Spoken WrittenWord Word
_________ stimuli
_________ stimuli
________________________________
If ____________ terminology doesn’t
_____________ treatment goals...
what ____________________________
offers treatment direction?
Esch, Trad/VB AssessmentJuly 2012
PSU Nat’l Aut Conf
Copyright 2012 Barbara E. Esch. 8
Linguisticprocesses,concepts,syntactic
structures,language
processor, etc
Hypotheticalenvironment Before-after events
Antecedents andconsequences in
A-B-C units
Anatomy &Physiology
Brain, blood chemistry,nerves, muscles, etc
Non-
languagebehavior
Speech &Languagebehavior
Environment(external)
Environment(internal)
Speech-Language = _____________
Language is a function of _________________________
Traditional view
SemanticsGrammar
Pragmatics
Syntax
Esch, Trad/VB AssessmentJuly 2012
PSU Nat’l Aut Conf
Copyright 2012 Barbara E. Esch. 9
Language is a function of ________________________
Behavior analytic view
Observe
Assess
Change
Plan treatment
Responses
Skills“Concept”
Asking skillsHe asks for animals he wants.
He asks Qs about animals.
Receptive skillsHe gets/gives animals when asked.He points to animals when asked.
Labeling skillsHe can name animals he
sees, hears, touches.
Conversation skillsHe answers questions
about animals.
Matching skillsHe can match
animal pictures.
Echoic skillsHe can repeatanimal names.
Vocal
Echoic
Imitation
Mand (requesting)
Tact (labeling)
Intraverbal (conversing)
Listener
Play & Leisure
Social
Group routines
Linguistic
Vis’l Performance
Reading, Writing, Math
Key: Score Date Color Tester
Child's name 1st test:
Date of birth 2nd test:
3rd test:
LEVEL 3 Mand Listener VP/MTS Writing IV Group Ling. Math
15
14
13
12
11
LEVEL 2 Mand Tact Listener VP/MTS Play Social Imitation Echoic LRFFC IV Group/CR Ling.
10
9
8
7
6
LEVEL 1 Mand Tact Listener VP/MTS Play Social Imitation Echoic Vocal
5
4
3
2
1
Tact LRFFCReadingSocialPlay
Skills by 48 mos
Skills by 30 mos
Skills by 18 mos
VB-MAPPVerbal Behavior Milestones Assessment & Placement Program
Sundberg, M. L. (2007)
Esch, Trad/VB AssessmentJuly 2012
PSU Nat’l Aut Conf
Copyright 2012 Barbara E. Esch. 10
Skills
Asking
Conversation
Labeling
Matching
Repeating
Receptive
Imitation
Play-leisure
What do we mean when we say“She doesn’t get the meaning of cat”
Meaning =
Under what before-and-after conditions
cat AfterBefore
does she say…
Esch, Trad/VB AssessmentJuly 2012
PSU Nat’l Aut Conf
Copyright 2012 Barbara E. Esch. 11
1 Response ____
ConsequentsAntecedentscat
cat
cat
cat
4 Response _____
Fx 1
Fx 3
Fx 4
Fx 2
Behavior ConsequenceAntecedent
4 Verbal Functions
Under this condition This response… Produces this
cookie Social (praise)“cookie”
cookie Social (praise)“name a snack”
cookie Social (praise)
cookiewants cookie➀
➁
➂
➃
Want it +/-
Conditions that evokelanguage responses
Something youcan see, hear,
taste, touch, feelbut it’s not “language”
Verbal infoIt doesn’t match the
response
VBIt matches the response
A response underthese conditions is
called ...
Esch, Trad/VB AssessmentJuly 2012
PSU Nat’l Aut Conf
Copyright 2012 Barbara E. Esch. 12
ConsequentsAntecedents
VB
VB
Fx 1 VB (language)that matches
responseSocial
VBFx 3 VB (language)that does not
match responseSocial
Fx 4Wants + or - Specific
VBFx 2 Sensory stim(but not lang stim) Social
MandMand IntraverbalIntraverbalEchoicEchoic TactTact
Behavioral analysisof language
1
AA BB CC
2
AA CC
AA CC
AA CC
AA CC
Echoic function
Intraverbal function
Mand function
Tact function
3 “Meaning” is defined by _____________________
Esch, Trad/VB AssessmentJuly 2012
PSU Nat’l Aut Conf
Copyright 2012 Barbara E. Esch. 13
A-B-C analysis can be done for_______ and _____________ behaviors
Time to line up Gets hugsCried
What’s your name? Hi, DanDaniel
The science of behavior ischanging ______ by changing these _____ thatoccur before and after any particular behavior
AAAntecedent events
BBBehavior
CCConsequent events
Errors occur in _______
error? ?
AAAntecedent events
BBBehavior
CCConsequent events
Error repair (Teaching)must occur in context
Error analysis (Assessment)must occur in context
Examples of
________-based targets(No A-B-C context)
Verb tense PronounsArticles Plurals
Receptive language, etc
A-B-C analysisErrorless teachingError correctionDifferential reinforcementPrompting, prompt-fadingMotivating operations (MO)Stimulus control (transfers)
Procedures (interventions) availableProcedures are contextual descriptions of what to do
Examples of
________-based targets(A-B-C context)
Mand, TactEchoic
Intraverbal
Esch, Trad/VB AssessmentJuly 2012
PSU Nat’l Aut Conf
Copyright 2012 Barbara E. Esch. 14
____________ Skills
Sentence completion namingGrammatic completion
Word structureUsing concepts
Completing similesMorphology
Non-behavioral descriptions of errors Examples...
Error analysis example -from linguistic to behavioral -
NonverbalTest and author(s)Sub-test name or description Mand Echoic Tact IntraVB Textual Listener
Concepts & Following Directions xWord Structure x xRecalling Sentences xFormulated Sentences (x) x x (x)Word Classes 1 (ages 5-7) (x) (x) x xWord Classes 2 (ages 8-21) (x) (x) x xSentence Structure (x) (x) (x) xExpressive Vocabulary x xUnderstanding Spoken Paragraphs x
Phonological Awareness x (x)Word Associations Pb xNumber Repetition x (x)Familiar Sequences x (x)Rapid Automatic Naming xPragmatics Profile
Clinical Evaluation of Language Fundamentals Ages 5-8(CELF-4)Semel et al. (2003)
Verbal
Table 5: Receptive-Expressive Language Tests
Implied function of test itemsa
Esch et al. (2010). Speech and language assessment: A verbal behavior analysis. The Journal of Speech-Language Pathologyand Applied Behavior Analysis, 5, 166-191.
Esch, Trad/VB AssessmentJuly 2012
PSU Nat’l Aut Conf
Copyright 2012 Barbara E. Esch. 15
Point to the ones that go together.
How do the words __ and __ go together?
Possible language problems that might be identifiedby traditional S-L tests:
Noun-verb construction
Sentence completion
Verb tense
Repetition
Q: What’s he doing?
A: Running
Q: He likes to run.
He is_____.
A: no response
Correct Error
Functional analysis of the error response
Learner’sresponse
This ___________(it evoked right response)
He likes to run.He is _____.
Picture
This ____________(DN evoke right response) ---
What’s he doing?
Picture
running
“Before”context
Esch, Trad/VB AssessmentJuly 2012
PSU Nat’l Aut Conf
Copyright 2012 Barbara E. Esch. 16
Learner’sresponse
He likes to run.He is _____.
This did not work(DN evoke right response) running
“Before”context
Functional analysis of the error response
Learner’sresponse
He likes to run.He is _____.Picture
New contextevokes correct response
What’s he doing?Picture
running
running
Already effective contextevokes correct response
This is a problem because ________________________
Traditional S-L assessment occurs within a context, butthose _____________________________
Error responses are reported in (non-behavioral) termsthat fail to ______________________________
This is a problem because _____________________
Esch, Trad/VB AssessmentJuly 2012
PSU Nat’l Aut Conf
Copyright 2012 Barbara E. Esch. 17
A behavioral look attraditional S-L assessments
Type of assessment3 4 7 7 4 3
Esch, Trad/VB AssessmentJuly 2012
PSU Nat’l Aut Conf
Copyright 2012 Barbara E. Esch. 18
Table 3: Apraxia Tests
NonverbalTest and author(s) Sub-test name or description Mand Echoic Tact IntraVB Textual Listener
VerbalImplied function of test itemsa
Diadochokinetic Rate x xIncreasing Word Length (A & B) xLimb Apraxia & Oral Apraxia xLatency Time and Utterance Time for Polysyllabic Words x (x)
Repeated Trials x (x)Inventory of Articulation Characteristics of Apraxia x x x
x xKaufman Speech Praxis Test for Children
Apraxia Battery for Adults(ABA-2)Dabul (2000)
Volitional Oral Movement - Verbal x x
Diadochokinesis x xWords (repetition) (P) x x (S) Difficult word repetition x xPhrases and Sentences (P, S) x x (S) Rhymes x x (S) Counting Pb x (S) Prosody x xConnected Speech Sample (x) x
The Apraxia Profile:Preschool (P)School-age (S)Hickman (1997)
Esch, LaLonde, & Esch. (2010). Speech and language assessment: A verbal behavior analysis. The Journal of Speech-Language Pathology and Applied Behavior Analysis, 5, 166-191.
Labels are ______________________________
Items labeled as ________ are tested as ______________
Labels do not reflect __________ required for + on testitems
Stimuli that currently are required to evoke the responseare not ______________________________
Labels _______________________
Problems that can affect treatment goals
Mand functions are _______________________
_______ instances of direct observation of mands
Spontaneous Speech A: Conversational Questions x B: Picture Description x xAuditory Verbal Comprehension A: Yes/No Questions (x) x B: Auditory Word Recognition x x C: Sequential Commands xRepetition xNaming & Word Finding A: Object Naming P x (x) B: Word Fluency x C: Sentence Completion x D: Responsive Speech x
Western Aphasia Battery RevisedKertesz (2007)
Esch et al. (2010). Speech and language assessment: A verbal behavior analysis. The Journal of Speech-Language Pathology and Applied BehaviorAnalysis, 5, 166-191.
NonverbalTest and author(s) Sub-test name or description Mand Echoic Tact IntraVB Textual Listener
VerbalImplied function of test itemsaTable 2: Aphasia Tests
Esch, Trad/VB AssessmentJuly 2012
PSU Nat’l Aut Conf
Copyright 2012 Barbara E. Esch. 19
Skill reportedly tested: _______
Skill actually tested: _______
Mands might beunder prompt control
Informant only
ReceptivePoint to “DRINKING”
Esch, Trad/VB AssessmentJuly 2012
PSU Nat’l Aut Conf
Copyright 2012 Barbara E. Esch. 20
Esch et al. (2010). Speech and language assessment: A verbal behavior analysis. The Journal of Speech-Language Pathology and Applied BehaviorAnalysis, 5, 166-191.
Table 7: Receptive Language Tests
NonverbalTest and author(s) Sub-test name or description Mand Echoic Tact IntraVB Textual Listener
VerbalImplied function of test itemsa
(x) (x) x
(x) (x) x
Vocabulary (x) (x) x
Grammatical Morphemes (x) (x) x
Elaborated Phrases and Sentences (x) (x) x
Test for Auditory Comprehension of Language (TACL-3)Carrow-Woolfolk (1999)
Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test (PPVT-3)Dunn et al. (1997)
Receptive One-Word Picture Vocabulary Test (ROWPVT)Brownell (2000)
Elision x x (x)Rapid Color Naming x x (x)Blending Words x xSound Matching x x xRapid Object Naming x xMemory for Digits xNonword repetition xBlending Nonwords x
Comprehensive Test of Phonological Processing for ages 5 and 6 (CTOPP)Wagner et al. (1999)
Esch et al. (2010). Speech and language assessment: A verbal behavior analysis. The Journal of Speech-Language Pathology and Applied BehaviorAnalysis, 5, 166-191.
NonverbalTest and author(s) Sub-test name or description Mand Echoic Tact IntraVB Textual Listener
VerbalImplied function of test itemsa
Table 4: Articulation/Phonology Tests PhonologyDifficulty understanding ___________________________________
Non-word repetition
Instructions: Say itexactly as you heard it
Esch, Trad/VB AssessmentJuly 2012
PSU Nat’l Aut Conf
Copyright 2012 Barbara E. Esch. 21
Esch et al. (2010). Speech and language assessment: A verbal behavior analysis. The Journal of Speech-Language Pathology and Applied BehaviorAnalysis, 5, 166-191.
NonverbalTest and author(s) Sub-test name or description Mand Echoic Tact IntraVB Textual Listener
VerbalImplied function of test itemsa
Table 4: Articulation/Phonology Tests
Elision x x (x)Rapid Color Naming x x (x)Blending Words x xSound Matching x x xRapid Object Naming x xMemory for Digits xNonword repetition xBlending Nonwords x
Comprehensive Test of Phonological Processing for ages 5 and 6 (CTOPP)Wagner et al. (1999)
Say popcorn. Now say popcorn without saying corn.
Say baseball. Now say baseball without saying base.
Say spider. Now say spider without saying der.
Say fixed. Now say fixed without saying /k/.
Source: CTOPP
Picture Vocabulary (x) (x) xRelational Vocabulary xOral Vocabulary xGrammatic Understanding (x) (x) xSentence Imitation xGrammatic Completion xWord Discrimination (x) xPhonemic Analysis x xWord Articulation P x x
a Items marked (x) indicate additional operant repertoires required or assessed by this itemb Correction prompts may additionally assess this operant
Test of Language Development - Primary (TOLD-P:3) Newcomer & Hamill (1988)
Esch et al. (2010). Speech and language assessment: A verbal behavior analysis. The Journal of Speech-Language Pathology and Applied BehaviorAnalysis, 5, 166-191.
Table 5: Receptive/Expressive Language Tests
NonverbalTest and author(s) Sub-test name or description Mand Echoic Tact IntraVB Textual Listener
VerbalImplied function of test itemsa
Esch, Trad/VB AssessmentJuly 2012
PSU Nat’l Aut Conf
Copyright 2012 Barbara E. Esch. 22
Assessing complex language skills
___________________________
Point to “DRINKING”
No conditional discrimination
Getting the answer right does not depend on____________________ - it only depends on____________________________________.
Because there are no ____________, youcan get the answer right by simply ________
____________________________________.
Point to “DRINKING”
Conditional discrimination
Stimulus 1: “Point to drinking”
Stimulus 2:__________________________
__________________ dependson (is conditional on)_________________________
_________________________.
Esch, Trad/VB AssessmentJuly 2012
PSU Nat’l Aut Conf
Copyright 2012 Barbara E. Esch. 23
Sequencing test questions incorrectly can teachlearners not to attend to certain stimuli
Point to dog eatingPoint to dog sleepingPoint to dog runningPoint to dog jumping
What’s your name?What’s your mom’s name?What’s your phone #?What’s your dad’s name?
Who is by the desk?Who is by the door?Who is by the sinkWho is by the playroom?
What do we wear on our head?What do we wear on our feet?What do we wear on our neck?What do we wear on our body?
Conditional discrimination taskOne stimulus changes the strength of anotherstimulus to evoke a response
Sample
Find ______Find ______
Translation: The correct answer dependson _____________________________________________ the relevant information
cows
horses
dogs
people
ducks
crabs
lions
___________
________________ stimulus controlMultiple stimuli ______________ to evoke a correct response
Esch, Trad/VB AssessmentJuly 2012
PSU Nat’l Aut Conf
Copyright 2012 Barbara E. Esch. 24
Multiple part questions8Multiple part questions7Adjectives, prepositions, adverbs6Categories, function, features5Age, simple Who, Where questions4Simple What questions3Name, function fill-ins, related items2Animal sounds & song fill-ins1
ContentSubtest
INTRAVERBAL Subtests
Rote ordivergent SC
(many Rs correct)
Complexconditional VBdiscriminations
requiringconvergent SC
Sundberg, M. L., & Sundberg, C. A. (2011). Intraverbal behavior and verbal conditional discriminations in typically developing children and children withautism. The Analysis of Verbal Behavior.
See/say(tact)
Hear/say(echoic)
See/do(imitation)
Rote actions(Foll dirs/LR)
Simple Intraverbals
Other simple discriminations
Sundberg, M. L., & Sundberg, C. A. (2011). Intraverbal behavior and verbal conditional discriminations in typically developing children and children withautism. The Analysis of Verbal Behavior, 27, 23-43.
Easy What Qslots of diff correct answers
Complex IVsrequiring
VB conditional discriminations(VBCDs)
Sundberg, M. L., & Sundberg, C. A. (2011). Intraverbal behavior and verbal conditional discriminations in typically developing children and children withautism. The Analysis of Verbal Behavior, 27, 23-43.
Esch, Trad/VB AssessmentJuly 2012
PSU Nat’l Aut Conf
Copyright 2012 Barbara E. Esch. 25
VB conditional discriminations (VBCDs)
Response has to come under control of2 or more antecedent VB stimuli
Sundberg, M. L., & Sundberg, C. A. (2011). Intraverbal behavior and verbal conditional discriminations in typically developing children and children withautism. The Analysis of Verbal Behavior, 27, 23-43.
A: _____________________Q: Who do you see on TV
Missing/weak:
Subtest 4Item 9Sundberg, M. L., &Sundberg, C. A.(2011).
Multiplestimuli must__________
__________correct
response TV
Summary
1 Mands ____________________________________
2 A response may not be ______ if _______ stimuliare ______________________________________
3 Failure to describe __________________________has ______________________________________
Esch, Trad/VB AssessmentJuly 2012
PSU Nat’l Aut Conf
Copyright 2012 Barbara E. Esch. 26
Research & clinical To-Do’s
Define ___________________
_______________________that need to be in place tosupport acquisition of more
complex repertoires
Identify S-L ___________
______________ that definea competent speech-language repertoire
Translate this information into_________________________________
Contact: