Asperger's : Speech and Language Assessment

[mrsforgetful]

FINALLY....... DS2 is being reffered to for the Speech and Language Assessment to be assesssed to see whether he shows any characteristics indicating Aspergers.

DS1 had this- but at the time we were still 'closed' to Aspergers - so i didn't really give it any thought

I'm assuming she will look for things like 'Literal Thinking' (ie he asked me the other day what a broken heart was)

But what else will be looked at- last time i know she asked ds1 to sequence pictures.I don't remember much else.

Will she include how he sits/fidgets and how when at his level he will position his face within 2 or 3 inches of her face.

Also i know he is very precise about 'pronounciation' like 'BULL' and 'BALL'- most people tend to say them the same but ds2 REALLY emphasises the A or the U- and then draws out the last 'L'

Finally -will she be interested in the fact that when he wants something he will often 'remove' the 'pointless' words and rarely refers to himself at all with 'I'.... so instead of saying

"Please can i have a drink?"
He will say

"DS2(his own name) needs drink"

(similarily....DS1 tired, ds1 thirsty etc.....this would look better if i posted his name ...ds2 doesn't quite sound so good!)

I'd love your comments!!!!

Sorry, MrsF. I've been off-line for a couple of days so have only just seen this.

Ds1 is obviously younger than your ds2 and his SALT assessment was in conjunction with his Psychology assessment so the two might get a bit mixed up. This is what they looked for with ds1:

Comprehension: The SALT looked at a simple book with him and asked questions to see what he understood. She noted that while he had difficulty following a simple instruction of "Show me the horse's tail" he easily managed to answer a question about whether the horse was heavier than the dog. She also noted that he has problems with understanding questioning words like who/what/where/why/how.

Expression: She noted that he too doesn't use "I" or "me". He says things like "Ds1's turn" "Ds1 wants drink". He also says "mine ball" or "mine toy" instead of saying "my".

She noted that he echoed a lot and had trouble with non-verbal communication like eye-contact and gesture.

I can check his assessment notes if you need to know more.

At our assessment the SALT tested ds's comprehension skills with a game with differnet coloured toys to slot into holes. First she asked him what the toys were, then she asked what colour they were and then asked the shapes of the holes and kept building up the sentences so by the end she was asking him eg "put the red teddy into the square hole". He had problems with a sentence this long although he did get a bit better by the end.

He was tested with comprehension on relative sizes eg "brush the dolls hair with the small brush" and he didn't know which one to take.

She also asked him to talk and noted things such as his 'repair' was bad, ie correcting himself if he made a mistake.

That's all I can think of off the top of my head - I can check his notes for more if you wish.

I've forgotten - how old is your ds2?

Excellent- I found a BRILLIANT site 'Lincolnshire NHS' ....has 'SALT for Asperger's' info is FANTASTIc ! It goes into all the ways we can help as parents.....and that leads me nicely on to 'Mike Stanton's' web site (he's a father of an Asperger's boy/SEN Teacher & author -Jessica Kingsley publishing) and i found loads of stuff ....foe example " Educating The Professionals - The Parent's Challenge" ...this article focuses on the struggle to get a DX and to get the right 'help/provision'

You'll have to set up a publishing deal WHEN you get ds2's dx. You could call your book "Forgetting the Forgetfuls: Our Fight for Diagnosis."

he's 7 and a half....VERY verbal.....one thing i'm sure she'll see is when he's talking about 'his' subject he gradually moves in closer with each sentance- then starts to cup his hand around his mouth- like a whisper- then looks all secretive as he keeps chatting! Trouble is he gets within 3 or 4" of whoever's face- regardless if he's never met them- no 'shyness' no 'reserve'.

Will she look for 'body language/movements' ? He crosses his fingers alot and squeezes his fingers together/wrings his hands....and looks out the corner of his eyes alot(peripheral vision?????) -and when not talking tends to often make a 'strange' mouth movement whilst widening his eyes....looks like he has an eyelash caught....

I'm assuming all this still comes under 'speech and language' as it is to do with 'communication' ????

Now I think you've been spying on us Mrsforgetful - strange mouth and eye movements "are" DS1!!!

During the SALT/Psych part of the assesment ds1 started doing the 'looking out of the corners of his eyes' thing so I pointed it out to them. They did look at his body language too and also his inability to understand non-verbal communication. As the Psych and SALT were in the same room I'm not sure which one of them (maybe both?) was looking at this. One of the 'non-verbal communication' tests they did was to roll a ball to him. He didn't 'get' that he should roll it back to them until they explained it to him. Ds2 already knows this kind of thing at 13 months.

DINO- i'm glad you 'know what i'm on about'!!!!

DS1 used to lie on the settee facing away from the tv but still watching it by looking sideways- he was later found to have a 'squint' (left eye turned inwards) so for years i believed that was why he'd had this 'strange' way to watch t.v- however NOW i 'see' things diferently- this was probably 'another' signpost to the journey ahead.

Although not Aspie my son does the peripheral vision thing. I think this may explain some of the difficulty ASD/AS people have with eye contact too. Just because he doens't look directly at someting doens't mean he hasn't seen it or looked at it. We can put things down on the table and ask him to pick X or Y and often he gets the right one immediately because he HAS looked at it, just not like we do (especially if its Twiglets )

Yes s/he should be looking at body language too - that is the whole area of pragmatics... the website KPB gave me gives some good examples below. The website can be found here ... Semantic Pragmatic Disorder Parents Page

Pragmatic Language Skills

Nonverbal Communication.

1. Looks at the eyes of person speaking with
2. Uses facial expressions appropriate to content of words
3. Understands the facial expressions of others and responds appropriately
4. Understands the emotions of others and responds appropriately
5. Recognizes nonverbal cues and gestures (body language)
6. Acts at an age-appropriate level
7. Recognizes the - spatial relationship between people or objects and self: stands the appropriate distances from others; has sense of size/weight of things 8 Refrains from making inappropriate noises

Expressive Skills

1. Speaks clearly (does not mumble)
2. Speaks with varied and appropriate tone and volume 3 Is able to take another person?s perspective
3. Does not ramble on one topic, as if unaware of other?s interest
4. Understands sarcasm
5. Understands and uses metaphor appropriately
6. Can let go of an argument, even if the other person does not agree
7. Understands own internal state and can respond to inquiries about self with more than ?I don?t know?

Conversational Skills?Topic Maintenance

1. Chooses a topic appropriate to setting
2. Introduces and discusses topic clearly
3. Expresses relevant information and expresses it concisely
4. Maintains a topic in conversation
5. Changes topics appropriately
6. Understands how to tailor conversation to audience?e.g., peers versus teachers

Conversational Skills?Turn Taking

1. Takes turns in conversation?does not monopolize
2. Attends to listener?s comprehension and attention to what he/she is saying
3. Is appropriate when interrupting both peers and adults
4. Waits to be called on or acknowledged before speaking in class or a group
5. Appropriately asks a speaker to clarify comments made
6. Is flexible when there is a change in topic

Speech Conventions
1 Introduces self appropriately to others
2. Uses appropriate conversational pleasantries (greetings, apologies~ responses to others)
3. Makes him/herself available for conversation (is approachable)
4. Talks ?to? people, not ?at? them
5. Asks for help when needed
6. Initiates original (nonredundant) conversation

Peer Skills

1. Establishes and maintains appropriate friendships
2. Refrains from making fun of others 3.. Welcomes others to join group
3. Offers and accepts criticism appropriately
4. Offers and accepts compliments appropriately
5. Uses appropriate slang with peers
6. Demonstrates empathy
7. Seems confident in same and opposite sex interactions
8. Responds to verbal conflicts appropriately
9. Compromises and negotiates appropriately
10. Can let another ?win? an argument
11. Listens to another person?s perspective without having to impose own

Other

1. Recognizes and expresses own emotions
2. Does not blame others for own issues or feelings
3. Demonstrates remorse when appropriate
4. Assertively deals with peer pressure
5. Respects the hierarchy of a school or other setting
6. Cares what others think of him/her
7. Can understand the purpose of rules, even when doesn?t agree

eulalia- THAT IS fantastic....I've never looked at SPD....and simply looking through that list I can safely say that most of it applies to him!
Just amazes me how all these different 'pieces' are part of the same puzzle.

referring to the list posted THESE ARE ALL THE THINGS I FEEL HE HAS MOST DIFFICULTY WITH:

Non Verbal
4. Understands the emotions of others and responds appropriately
5. Recognizes nonverbal cues and gestures (body language)
7. Recognizes the - spatial relationship between people or objects and self: stands the appropriate distances from others; has sense of size/weight of things
8 Refrains from making inappropriate noises

Expressive Skills
2. Speaks with varied and appropriate tone and volume
3 Is able to take another person’s perspective
4. Does not ramble on one topic, as if unaware of other’s interest
7. Can let go of an argument, even if the other person does not agree
8. Understands own internal state and can respond to inquiries about self with more than “I don’t know”

Conversational Skills—Topic Maintenance

1. Chooses a topic appropriate to setting
2. Introduces and discusses topic clearly
3. Expresses relevant information and expresses it concisely
4. Maintains a topic in conversation
5. Changes topics appropriately
6. Understands how to tailor conversation to audience—e.g., peers versus teachers

Conversational Skills—Turn Taking

1. Takes turns in conversation—does not monopolize
2. Attends to listener’s comprehension and attention to what he/she is saying
3. Is appropriate when interrupting both peers and adults
4. Waits to be called on or acknowledged before speaking in class or a group
5. Appropriately asks a speaker to clarify comments made
6. Is flexible when there is a change in topic

Speech Conventions
1 Introduces self appropriately to others
2. Uses appropriate conversational pleasantries (greetings, apologies~ responses to others)
3. Makes him/herself available for conversation (is approachable)
4. Talks “to” people, not “at” them
5. Asks for help when needed
6. Initiates original (nonredundant) conversation

Peer Skills

1. Establishes and maintains appropriate friendships
2. Offers and accepts criticism appropriately
3. Offers and accepts compliments appropriately
4. Demonstrates empathy
5. Responds to verbal conflicts appropriately
6. Compromises and negotiates appropriately
7. Can let another “win” an argument
8. Listens to another person’s perspective without having to impose own

Other
2. Does not blame others for own issues or feelings
3. Demonstrates remorse when appropriate
6. Cares what others think of him/her
7. Can understand the purpose of rules, even when doesn’t agree

His 'worst areas' are the converatsions etc

oops! My 'copy/pasting' of your text has not gone too well....hope it makes sense!!!!