Non-assessment techniques used by SLPs

Non-assessment techniques are one of many approaches used by clinicians specializing in speech language pathology (SLP), a dynamic field that focuses on the assessment, diagnosis, and treatment of communication disorders.

According to ASHA, a speech therapist's role is to “prevent, assess, diagnose, and treat speech, language, social communication, cognitive-communication, and swallowing disorders in children and adults.”

SLPs can improve the lives of individuals with speech and language disorders by helping to prevent the academic and social challenges that are associated with these difficulties. The overall quality of a child or adult’s life can be enhanced by improving their communication skills. 

A fundamental aspect of the speech language pathology field is evaluation. Comprehensive evaluations allow SLPs to identify communication disorders, determine the level of their severity, and develop individualized intervention plans for individuals.

While norm-referenced assessments can provide critical information about an individual’s skills, non-assessment techniques such as naturalistic observation and language sampling can be equally as important to complete. Non-assessment techniques provide a holistic evaluation of an individual’s communication strengths and difficulties.

Here you’ll find a guide to non-assessment techniques in the field of speech language pathology. Exploring these techniques can prepare SLPs to utilize them during evaluations to obtain a thorough assessment of an individual’s skills.

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Types of non-assessment techniques

Ethnographic Interviewing Technique

Ethnographic interviewing involves gaining an understanding of the client’s communication skills and life experiences through information provided from the individual’s family or client themself.

Rather than asking too many questions, an ethnographic interview can be thought of as a friendly conversation between the SLP and the caregivers and/or client. It’s important to establish a positive rapport and clearly communicate within the interview.

The SLP should seek information about what the client’s daily life entails, areas of support, and what challenges they face.

Language Sampling Technique

Collecting a spontaneous speech sample (also known as “language sample”) to analyze can provide the SLP with valuable information about the individual’s true language abilities.

The SLP can analyze the sample to obtain details on various aspects of the client’s language use, such as vocabulary, sentence structure, and morphology. It can also be analyzed when assessing articulation and speech intelligibility in a functional context. 

Measurements such as Type-Token Ratio (TTR) and Mean Length of Utterance (MLU) can be used in conjunction with data obtained from standardized language tests to provide a comprehensive assessment of the client’s speech and language skills.

Analog Tasks Observation Technique

Analog Tasks involve simulating real-life scenarios in a controlled environment to observe the client’s communication skills. The clinician may create a situation that mirrors a certain communication challenge to observe where the individual’s communication strengths and difficulties lie.

For example, when assessing stuttering, the clinician might ask the individual several questions to observe potential changes in speech fluency when under pressure. 

Naturalistic Observation Technique

Naturalistic Observation involves observing the individual’s speech and language skills within spontaneous interactions. Depending on the client’s age, this might include conversation or play.

This technique can provide valuable insights into the client’s functional communication abilities that may not be represented on a standardized assessment.

Systematic Observation and Contextual Analysis Technique

This entails observation of an individual’s skills across various settings and tasks in order to obtain descriptions of language functioning.

According to ASHA, this method can help SLPs identify specific areas of difficulty in communication. Therapists can also determine how certain contextual variables affect the individual’s speech and language skills.

Curriculum-Based Assessment Technique

In curriculum-based assessment, the goal is to identify what language skills are demanded by an individual’s academic curriculum and to assess his or her ability to meet those demands.

To complete this, the SLP can directly analyze relevant material such as a textbook or use other probes. Curriculum-based assessment may be used to develop instructional goals.

Dynamic Assessment

Dynamic assessment involves a test-teach-retest model. The client is tested, his or her skills are addressed, and then he or she is retested to determine the outcome of intervention.

The dynamic assessment method provides insight into the child’s learning potential. Traditional, static assessments provide information about the child’s current skill level.

Dynamic assessment can assist an SLP with determining recommendations for therapy frequency and duration. This is because the assessment model may provide helpful information about the client’s response to differing levels of assistance and intervention techniques.

Completing a dynamic assessment is complex. The clinician should have a thorough understanding of the purpose, clinical population, and data collection requirements involved.

Parent/guardian, teacher and self-reporting measures

Checklists, questionnaires, inventories, and rating scales can be completed by parents, caregivers, family members, teachers, or the client themself to provide a comprehensive representation of the client’s communication skills.

Parent/guardian, teacher, and self-reporting measures can be helpful in gaining a holistic look at a client’s speech and language skills across contexts, and within functional daily situations.

This information can be helpful in treatment planning, particularly in developing functional, individualized goals for a client.

Non-assessment techniques include methods that can be used to evaluate an individual’s skills beyond what is represented from traditional, static assessments.  Speech language pathologists can use a variety of non-assessment techniques in their evaluations, including dynamic assessment, ethnographic interviewing, and curriculum-based assessment.