Journal of Deaf Studies and Deaf Education 8:4 2003
© 2003 Oxford University Press
Empirical Article |
Vocabulary Assessment of Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing Children From Infancy Through the Preschool Years
Children's Therapy Unit at Good Samaritan Hospital
Georgia State University
The purpose of this article is to inform researchers and practitioners about potential challenges in the selection, administration, and interpretation of results of measures of vocabulary assessment when working with deaf and hard-of-hearing children. This article reviews methods that can be used to assess vocabulary of children through the age of 5 years, including naturalistic observation, parent report measures, and standardized vocabulary tests. The authors also describe procedures to assess word-learning processes available to children to facilitate vocabulary acquisition. General cautions regarding the use of assessment tools with deaf and hard-of-hearing children are reviewed, as well as cautions for specific assessment measures. Finally, based on available research, suggestions are offered regarding what each assessment test can tell us about deaf and hard-of-hearing children's vocabulary development.
We thank Patricia E. Spencer, Joy Caroline Harvey, and Sandra Huston for their ideas and thoughts, which have influenced the ideas contained in this manuscript, and the teachers who provided invaluable insight into vocabulary assessment while participating in our research. Correspondence should be sent to Amy K. Prezbindowski, Children's Therapy Unit, Good Samaritan Hospital, 402 15th Ave SE, Puyallup, WA 98372 (e-mail: amyprezbindowski{at}goodsamhealth.org).
Received February 2, 2002; revised November 5, 2002; accepted November 6, 2002