SLP Assessment and Intervention Principles 4 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: A clinician is planning intervention for a child with a language disorder and uses the concept of 'zone of proximal development' (ZPD). This means therapy targets should be:
- At the child's current independent mastery level
- Slightly above the child's current level but achievable with support (Correct answer)
- At age-expectation regardless of current performance
- Below the child's level to build foundational skills first
Correct answer: Slightly above the child's current level but achievable with support
Vygotsky's ZPD describes skills the child can accomplish with scaffolding, making it the optimal zone for instruction and intervention.
Question 2: Which of the following is an example of a facilitative technique used in language intervention?
- Providing errorless learning trials
- Using self-talk to model language in context (Correct answer)
- Requiring imitation of target forms before play
- Administering prompted elicitation on every trial
Correct answer: Using self-talk to model language in context
Self-talk is a facilitative technique where the clinician narrates their own actions, modeling target language without requiring a response from the child.
Question 3: In fluency intervention using the Stuttering Modification approach, the goal of 'cancellation' is to:
- Stop speaking immediately when a stutter occurs
- Pause after a stuttered word, then repeat it more easily (Correct answer)
- Predict upcoming stutters and avoid difficult words
- Reduce overall speaking rate to prevent dysfluencies
Correct answer: Pause after a stuttered word, then repeat it more easily
Cancellation involves pausing after a stutter, releasing tension, and then re-saying the word using an easier, more controlled manner.
Question 4: When assessing an adult with aphasia, the Western Aphasia Battery (WAB) provides a score called the Aphasia Quotient (AQ). A score of 93.8 or above indicates:
- Severe Broca's aphasia
- Moderate anomic aphasia
- Language within functional limits (no aphasia) (Correct answer)
- Global aphasia
Correct answer: Language within functional limits (no aphasia)
An AQ of 93.8 or higher on the WAB is considered within normal limits and does not indicate the presence of aphasia.
Question 5: A school-based SLP is determining eligibility for services. Which standard is MOST consistent with IDEA guidelines?
- The child scores below the 25th percentile on any language test
- The child has a disorder that adversely affects educational performance (Correct answer)
- The child's parent requests services in writing
- The child has a medical diagnosis of a communication disorder
Correct answer: The child has a disorder that adversely affects educational performance
Under IDEA, a child qualifies for special education services, including speech-language services, when the disability adversely affects educational performance.
Question 6: The PROMPT (Prompts for Restructuring Oral Muscular Phonetic Targets) approach primarily targets:
- Phonological awareness and literacy skills
- Motor-sensory aspects of speech production through tactile cues (Correct answer)
- Semantic and syntactic language development
- Voice quality and resonance disorders
Correct answer: Motor-sensory aspects of speech production through tactile cues
PROMPT uses tactile-kinesthetic cues applied to the face and jaw to guide the motor movements needed for speech sound production.
Question 7: Which measure from a language sample is MOST useful for evaluating morphosyntactic development?
- Number of total utterances
- Mean Length of Utterance in morphemes (MLU-m) (Correct answer)
- Type-Token Ratio (TTR)
- Number of mazes and revisions
Correct answer: Mean Length of Utterance in morphemes (MLU-m)
MLU-m counts morphemes per utterance and is a sensitive index of grammatical development, particularly in children ages 1–5.
SLP Assessment and Intervention Principles 4
A clinician is planning intervention for a child with a language disorder and uses the concept of 'zone of proximal development' (ZPD).
This means therapy targets should be: