Informal Assessment of Communication Skills

Name: Informal Assessment of Communication Skills
SKU: PRAG11-2
Availability: InStock

Description

Our Informal Assessment of Communication skills pack provides a range of resources and activities that enable an informal assessment to be made of a child’s speech, language and communication skills. The conclusions can be reported back easily using the forms provided.

This type of assessment might be useful when:

there is a need to understand why a child is experiencing difficulties in group or social activities
there is a need to consider the child’s level of development and any gaps there may be in the child’s use of language, and social communication skills
therapists are looking to assess pragmatic/social communication skills to complement information gathered from other forms of language assessment
teachers are looking to set social targets for a child’s individual learning plan or programme.

For more information see below.

Ref: PRAG11-2 Download Sample

The informal assessment of communication skills pack includes an eight-section report. The skills covered include:

recognising, labelling, and demonstrating emotions, especially as conveyed in facial expressions
describing situations that cause different emotions – ‘What would make you feel…?’
matching emotions to scenarios presented orally or in picture clues
self-assessment of social situations (asking the child to rate their skills across several social situations on three levels – easy; a bit tricky; and very difficult).
social understanding (understanding idioms in context, describing feelings and verbal reasoning, talking about friends, talking about school)
school based understanding (explores the child’s awareness of school rules and encourages reflection).
understanding idioms out of context (Being able to understand idioms involves knowing the potential meanings and recognising which meaning is appropriate to a certain situation. This important skill can pose difficulties for many children with language or social communication difficulties).
observations of interaction skills ( use of eye contact, use of body language and posture, use of a range of facial expressions, ability to take turns in conversations, ability to offer appropriate amounts of information in conversations, awareness of listener’s needs, ability to maintain a topic of conversation).

Devised by Eilidh Ross, and the Speech and Language Therapy Service, NHS Dumfries and Galloway and illustrated by Helen Rippon, this communication skills pack includes a a wide range of activities and ideas. The record sheet allows you to note information as you work through the assessment. The authors have found that the information is useful in guiding discussion in relation to diagnostic criteria for autism spectrum disorders.

The pack offers a ready prepared and easy-to-use set of materials for use in informal assessment. Each section includes preparation advice and full instructions for use, along with suggestions for variations of activities and extension activity as appropriate. Details of related packs are also offered – these may be useful for further assessment and support activities.

Age Range: 5-11

Contents: PDF file 60 pages, including forms, guidance for their completion and 27 pages of activities.