Outcome Measurement & Progress Tracking Flashcards

Which outcome measure asks communication partners to rate changes in an AAC user's communicative participation using a 7-point scale across 11 functional communication areas?

Answer: ASHA NOMS (National Outcomes Measurement System)

The ASHA NOMS uses 7-point Functional Communication Measures (FCMs) rated by clinicians across domains including AAC-relevant communication areas.

A key limitation of using language sample analysis (LSA) as an AAC outcome measure is that:

Answer: Samples may vary by context, partner, and sampling conditions, reducing reliability

Variability in partner, topic, and context can significantly affect language sample results, making consistent comparison across time points challenging.

During an annual IEP review, measurable AAC outcome data should include:

Answer: Objective data tied to each annual goal's criteria and conditions

IDEA requires that IEP progress reports include objective, measurable data demonstrating whether the student met the criteria specified in each annual goal.

Which metric is used to calculate the average number of words or symbols per communication turn in AAC users, analogous to Mean Length of Utterance (MLU)?

Answer: Aided MLU (aMLU)

Aided MLU (aMLU) applies the MLU concept to aided communication output, measuring mean length of aided utterances to track linguistic complexity over time.

A clinician uses a 10-second partial-interval recording system during a 20-minute AAC session. This method is most likely to:

Answer: Overestimate the proportion of intervals containing the target behavior

Partial-interval recording scores an interval as positive if the behavior occurs at all within it, which tends to overestimate the actual proportion of time the behavior occurs.

When an AAC user maintains communication gains six weeks after formal intervention ends without additional support, this is described as:

Answer: Maintenance

Maintenance refers to the continuation of learned skills over time after the intervention has been withdrawn, demonstrating durable learning.

A team disagrees on whether to report AAC progress using raw frequency counts or percentage of opportunities. The BEST rationale for preferring percentage of opportunities is that it:

Answer: Controls for variability in the number of opportunities provided across sessions

Percentage of opportunities controls for differences in how many chances the student had to respond, allowing fair comparison across sessions with different opportunity counts.