TY - JOUR
T1 - Using Animated Action Scenes to Remotely Assess Sentence Diversity in Toddlers
AU - Krok, Windi
AU - Norton, Elizabeth S.
AU - Buchheit, Mary Kate
AU - Harriott, Emily M.
AU - Wakschlag, Lauren
AU - Hadley, Pamela A.
PY - 2022/4
Y1 - 2022/4
N2 - Although language samples are child-friendly and well-suited for obtaining global measures of language production, structured protocols have the potential to elicit many different exemplars of language structures in a shorter amount of time. We created a structured elicitation protocol, the Sentence Diversity Priming Task (SDPT), to efficiently assess sentence diversity in toddlers via video chat platforms. Sentence diversity is operationalized as the number of different subject–verb combinations in active declarative sentences. The task is presented as an animated picture book, with parents serving as the child’s primary partner during administration. In this article, we provide the rationale for assessing sentence diversity, describe the task, and present preliminary analyses of compliance and developmental associations for 32 typically developing toddlers, 30–35 months old, with average language abilities. The preliminary findings suggest that the SDPT is an engaging task that holds toddlers’ attention, reveals robust individual differences in their ability to produce sentences, is positively correlated with parent-reported language measures, and has the potential for assessing children’s language growth over time. Finally, recommendations and tips for developing and remotely administering the protocol are provided, with an emphasis on encouraging parent involvement and increasing toddler compliance.
AB - Although language samples are child-friendly and well-suited for obtaining global measures of language production, structured protocols have the potential to elicit many different exemplars of language structures in a shorter amount of time. We created a structured elicitation protocol, the Sentence Diversity Priming Task (SDPT), to efficiently assess sentence diversity in toddlers via video chat platforms. Sentence diversity is operationalized as the number of different subject–verb combinations in active declarative sentences. The task is presented as an animated picture book, with parents serving as the child’s primary partner during administration. In this article, we provide the rationale for assessing sentence diversity, describe the task, and present preliminary analyses of compliance and developmental associations for 32 typically developing toddlers, 30–35 months old, with average language abilities. The preliminary findings suggest that the SDPT is an engaging task that holds toddlers’ attention, reveals robust individual differences in their ability to produce sentences, is positively correlated with parent-reported language measures, and has the potential for assessing children’s language growth over time. Finally, recommendations and tips for developing and remotely administering the protocol are provided, with an emphasis on encouraging parent involvement and increasing toddler compliance.
KW - language assessment
KW - telehealth
KW - sentence diversity
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85162784433&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=85162784433&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1097/TLD.0000000000000280
DO - 10.1097/TLD.0000000000000280
M3 - Article
SN - 0271-8294
VL - 42
SP - 156
EP - 172
JO - Topics in Language Disorders
JF - Topics in Language Disorders
IS - 2
ER -