My three year old gs will be having his evaluation done tomorrow. We are concerned because his speech doesn't seem to be developing normally. We know pretty much what to expect at the evaluation because his six year old brother was evaluated by the same group two to three years ago. Speech was not one of our concerns with the older boy, however. I'll give an update later regarding the findings and recommendations. He will be starting pre-school next month.

By Palmbchprincess on Tuesday, July 13, 2004 - 09:25 pm:

I'd love to hear how it goes, since we're going through the process now. Keep us updated Joan!!

By Tink on Tuesday, July 13, 2004 - 09:40 pm:

Definitely let us know how it all goes. I'll be keeping my fingers crossed that he does well and that his team is great.

By Gammiejoan on Tuesday, July 13, 2004 - 09:54 pm:

I was thinking about you when I posted this, Crystal, and I'll definitely keep you updated. I'm getting excited about finally getting the evaluation done because I want him to start getting any services he needs as soon as possible. Please keep us updated regarding your ds.

By Tink on Wednesday, July 14, 2004 - 09:47 pm:

How did his evaluation go, Joan? Let us know when you get a chance.

By Gammiejoan on Monday, July 19, 2004 - 03:23 pm:

My dil was given the tentative results of his evaluation today and will be given a final written report later. She brought me a copy of the results they gave her today. The form is divided into four main sections: Cognitive Abilities, Communication Skills, Motor Skills, and Education. Each of these main sections is divided into two to four subsections.

Under "Cognitive Abilities," "Intelligence" and "Adaptive Behavior" are subsections. Under "Intelligence" he scored 98-verbal and 84-composite. The form says that the 98 is average and the 84 low average. He scored 86 or low average on the "Adaptive Behavior."

The areas tested under "Communication Skills" are "Expressive Language," "Receptive Language," "Total Language," and "Articulation." He scored 88 or low average on "Expressive Language," 57 or delayed on "Receptive Language," 70 or borderline on "Total Language," and borderline on "Articulation."

Their observation of him did not reveal any problems with his fine or gross motor skills. Therefore, he was not actually tested in the area of "Motor Skills."

The only area tested under "Education" was "Developmental Activities Screening Inventory(DASI-II)." He scored 94 or average on this.

I would appreciate comments from any of you who are familiar with this type of testing. Overall we feel good about the results. Our areas of concern are the ones where he scored borderline or delayed. Total language and articulation were scored as borderline while receptive language was scored delayed. We were surprised that his expressive language scored higher than his receptive language because we would have guessed the opposite to be true. One of the testers told my dil that he was fairly expressive when it came to making his desires known but less responsive when it came to following directions and responding accordingly.

We don't know yet what the recommendations will be for the services he should receive when he starts the pre-school program in a few weeks. I do know that he is going to be in a regular classroom.

By Pamt on Monday, July 19, 2004 - 04:26 pm:

Joan, I can comment more on the communication component if I know what particular test he was given. From the sound of the score breakdowns I would guess that it might be the "Preschool Language Scale." You are right in thinking that his receptive language scores should be higher than his expressive lang scores. IMHO, this would indicate more receptive lang testing to see what is causing the breakdown...or he could have just been tired during the receptive and been more focused on the expressive portion of the test. Going by the scores you listed, I am assuming that the mean standard score would be 100. Therefore, a score of 85-115 would be considered in the "typical" range of abilities (+/- 1 standard deviation). Usually, anything below 85 would be considered impaired, but sometimes schools require a child to be 1.5-2.0 standard deviations below the mean to receive services. Also, as far as articulation it really depends on the types and frequency of errors he made, not the score per se.

By Gammiejoan on Monday, July 19, 2004 - 05:43 pm:

Thanks, Pam. Right above the scores he received on expressive language and receptive language, the case coordinator has printed PLS-4. Am I correct in assuming that the difference in a score of 88 on expressive language and 57 on receptive language is a significant one?

By Feona on Tuesday, July 20, 2004 - 06:34 am:

One thing they told me. His cognitive score was in the average range. That is very good.

They made a point in emphasizing that. As long as you are cognitively good than you can work on everything.

Also he scored less on receptive and still did good on cognitive. Means he might not even understood everything they were asking him to do and he still did good!

John had similiar scores.