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During the speech therapy assessment, your child completes a series of tasks that look like exercises or games. Behind each one is a specific test, designed to assess a particular skill. Understanding what these tests are for will help you prepare your child and read the report more easily. Nothing to revise: these tasks measure what your child already knows how to do.
The tests used by speech and language therapists are standardised tools. They have been taken by a large number of children of different ages and school levels, which makes it possible to establish norms. They are said to be standardised. These norms are regularly updated.
Thanks to these norms, the speech and language therapist can place your child’s results in relation to children of the same age. This tells them whether the difficulties are within the average range, slightly below it or clearly below it. These results are presented in the report.
This is what makes the difference from a simple dictation in class or an online test. The results are objective and comparable. This is what gives the assessment its value. See online tests.
Speech and language therapists often use batteries, that is, sets of tasks that assess several skills in oral and written language. Among the most common in France are, for example, EVALEO 6-15, the Exalang batteries or the BALE. Each battery has its own features, and the speech and language therapist chooses the one that best suits the situation.
These batteries provide a complete picture of the child’s language: reading, spelling, phonological awareness, memory, vocabulary. The speech and language therapist selects the tasks according to the child’s age and the difficulties observed. This overall view helps to understand the origin of the difficulties.
Other, more specific tests may complete the assessment, for example to measure reading speed or the quality of spelling in a dictated text. The choice depends on each situation. These additional tests refine the diagnosis.
A central task involves dictating isolated words. Some are regular, meaning they are spelt as they are pronounced, such as “table” or “moto”. Others are irregular, such as “femme”, “monsieur” or “oignon”. These words are chosen to suit the child’s age.
Regular words can be written by following the sounds. Irregular words require the spelling to have been memorised. Comparing the two shows which route is weak in the child. This comparison is central to the diagnosis.
A child who succeeds with regular words but fails with irregular ones probably has a difficulty with orthographic memory, typical of lexical dysorthographia. Remediation will then focus on memorising words.
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Pseudo-words are invented words that do not exist but follow the rules of French, such as “bluvé” or “tarpon”. The child cannot know them, so they must necessarily work through the sounds to write them. These invented words often amuse children.
This task measures the phonological route, that is, the ability to transcribe sounds into letters. If the child often fails, with confusions or omissions of sounds, this route is weak. The type of errors also provides valuable clues.
This profile suggests phonological dysorthographia. The errors observed then guide remediation. This task is often very revealing.
To assess grammatical spelling, the speech and language therapist dictates sentences or a short text. They observe agreements in gender and number, verb conjugation and grammatical homophones. These observations clarify the child’s grammatical profile.
They also compare performance across situations: a short sentence or a long text, slow or faster dictation. A child who succeeds with simple sentences but fails in a text has a difficulty with automatisation. This difference points towards work on automatisation.
Sometimes the speech and language therapist also asks for free writing, a short composition, to see how the child writes spontaneously. This production shows their spontaneous strategies. See grammatical dysorthographia.
The assessment is not limited to spelling. The speech and language therapist also assesses reading, with tasks involving reading words, pseudo-words and texts, as well as comprehension. Reading and spelling are often affected together.
They test phonological awareness, with oral exercises manipulating sounds, and working memory, for example by asking the child to repeat sequences of numbers or syllables. They may also assess vocabulary and oral language. These functions play a key role in learning to write.
These additional tasks help to understand the origin of the difficulties and to identify any associated disorders. This comprehensive view avoids missing another disorder. See phonological awareness.
There is no need to prepare your child for the tests themselves. On the contrary, practising beforehand would distort the results. What matters is that they arrive relaxed and rested. A tired or stressed child does not show their true abilities.
Simply explain that they will be doing exercises and games with someone who wants to understand how they learn. Tell them there are no marks and that they are allowed not to know the answer. These simple words often reassure them greatly.
After the assessment, the speech and language therapist will explain the results of each task in the report. Do not hesitate to ask any questions you may have. See preparing your child for the assessment and understanding the report.
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No. Practising beforehand would distort the results and prevent the speech and language therapist from having an accurate picture of the difficulties. It is enough for your child to arrive rested and reassured. The assessment should reflect their real abilities.
It is an invented word that does not exist but follows the rules of French. It requires the child to work through the sounds to write it, which makes it possible to assess the phonological route. These tasks are often enjoyed by children.
No. The speech and language therapist selects the tasks according to age, school level and the difficulties observed. The norms used are adapted to each age group. The assessment is therefore always personalised.
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