Interpreting Test Scores in Toddlers and Preschoolers - “Teach Me To Talk with Laura and Kate” on Thursday, February 12, 2009
Join Kate and me this week for Teach Me To Talk with Laura and Kate on Thursday, February 12 at 6:00 pm Eastern time.
This week we’re going to discuss how to interpret test scores from speech-language evaluations and other standardized and criterion-referenced developmental assessments. This may not be the most interesting topic we’ve ever covered, but I routinely get questions about this on the website, in e-mails, and from parents I work with wondering exactly what it all means.
If you have general questions about results of your child’s testing, we’d love to hear from you! Please call us with your questions or comments. Our call-in number is 1-718-766-4332. We’d love to hear from you!
You can listen live by clicking this icon. 
If you can’t join us live, you can always listen later anytime using the blogtalkradio icon in the right hand column or on the home page.
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Hope you’ll join us! Laura
Comment by Lorelei on 19 February 2009:
Thank you for providing such a valuable resource. I wonder if you can address something we were told by an Early Intervention worker. We told her that we wanted to take our son to a private speech pathologist to get a second opinion, because we were not confident about the first evaluation he received. Our primary concern with the original evaluation was that we think he seems to have some sort of a physical problem (like apraxia or something similar), but the first pathologist apparently did not think so. The county worker informed us that we cannot have a second evaluation done by anyone until 6 months have gone by, or it’s not “valid.” What?? She is telling us that there is some sort of rule among speech pathologists that works to prevent parents from receiving a second opinion? Do you know what she is talking about and can you explain? I am wondering now if I am going to have to hide the fact of the first evaluation in order to get a second one? I am not good at dissembling so I am uncomfortable at the prospect. However, I am prepared to do whatever is required in order to get my son a good evaluation.
Comment by Maria on 19 February 2009:
Dear Laura and Kate,
Thank you so much for doing this show. My 23-month-old just “barely qualified” for speech and we had decided to wait and see before going forward because she scored so high in all of the other areas. Ten minutes into your show, I paused it and called the evaluator back to tell her we changed our minds! By the end of the show, I was just stunned (and a little terrified). The evaluator really made it sound like “barely qualified” meant that she was just a little behind. It was really hard to hear but needed to be said.
Thanks again for all of your work in putting together this wonderful resource.
Comment by Laura on 20 February 2009:
Maria - Glad the information was helpful in assisting you to make good decisions for your daughter. 23 months is a GREAT age to start therapy, and since she has so many strengths in other areas, I hope therapy is a “jump start” for her and that she’s catches up quickly. Let us know how she does! Laura
Comment by Laura on 20 February 2009:
Lorelei - There is no “rule” among SLPs about evals not being “valid” if done within 6 months of each other. The rule may be that your state program doesn’t pay for or allow another assessment for 6 months, but if you’re doing this privately and are not using the same payor system for both (say your insurance), you should be fine. Seeking a 2nd opinion is even pretty standard for insurance companies, so I don’t even think that would be a problem unless your policy prohibits this. I have heard that some state early intervention programs dissallow services thru their programs if a child is being seen thru another program, so this could be the reason too, but these are all related to PAYMENT issues, not anything resembling “validity.” If your gut tells you to get another opinion, then I’d do it, regardless of who I had to tell/not tell to make it happen. Laura
Comment by Lorelei on 20 February 2009:
Thanks so much for the reply, I really appreciate your help. It’s very nice of you to take the time to help out a total stranger like me! I suspected as much, but then I thought, what do I know?
Comment by Carey on 22 February 2009:
Hi: I just listened to your talk on the the “barely eligible” issue. Does this apply to the Michigan test as well? Also, in my state, children must have a 30 percent delay in one developmental area to qualify. How does that effect the interpretation of barely eligible scores?Thanks so much for your very informative website and talks.
Comment by Laura on 23 February 2009:
Carey - I don’t know the Michigan regulations. My advice is to talk to the team who evaluated your child and scour the report and specific test results for answers. Laura