How to Combine Assessments for Powerful Results: Social Communication & Autism

Discover time-saving tips to streamline your evaluation process. Center your assessment on the whole child, and maximize your efficiency with these expert-recommended pairings.

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Combining Assessment Tools for Effective Whole Child Assessment: Autism & Social Communication 

Holistic, or whole child, assessment gives the clearest picture of the individual at the heart of an evaluation. It relies on a practitioner's expertise, and it takes time. Combining assessments, or parts of assessments, can produce powerful results with more efficiency. Check out these productive pairings to make the most of your assessment time.

1. Early Intervention
   1. Early Sociocognitive Battery (ESB)
      1. What does it do?
         1. Assesses social responsiveness, joint attention, symbolic comprehension and other sociocognitive skills
      2. How is it given?
         1. Examiner uses toys and primarily nonverbal activities to engage and observe preschool children
      3. How long does it take?
         1. 15 minutes
      4. Who is it for?
         1. Children ages 18 months to 4 years, 11 months
   2. Early Language Communication Instrument (ELCI)
      1. What does it do?
         1. Provides information about a child's receptive and expressive language skills and social/play skills
      2. How is it given?
         1. Parent, teacher, caregiver, or other professional uses a rating scale
      3. How long does it take?
         1. 15 minutes
      4. Who is it for?
         1. Children ages 18 months to 5 years, 11 months
   3. Time-Saving Tip: Caregivers can complete the ECLI rating scales while you're administering the ESB.
2. School-age Children, Teens, and Young Adults
   
   1. Comprehensive Assessment of Spoken Language, Second Edition (CASL®-2) 
      
      1. What does it do?
         1. Measures oral language processing skills, comprehension, and expression across four categories: Lexical/Semantic, Syntactic, Supralinguistic, and Pragmatic
      2. How is it given?
         1. Examiner reads items aloud as the examinee responds by speaking or pointing
      3. How long does it take?
         1. 5–10 minutes for each stand-alone test
      4. Who is it for?
         1. Ages 3 to 21 years
   2. Clinical Assessment of Pragmatics (CAPs™)
      1. What does it do?
         1. Provides comprehensive information on pragmatic language skills and social language development of children and young adults
      2. How is it given?
         1. Student responds to digital videos of social interactions
      3. How long does it take?
         1. 45–60 minutes
      4. Who is it for?
         1. Ages 7 to 18 years
   3. Time-Saving Tip: Quickly use the Pragmatic Language test and Supralinguistic Index item analysis in CASL-2 to pinpoint areas of concern, then follow up with the CAPs digital video social scenes for gauging generalization of skills.
   4. WPS offers a full range of assessments to evaluate the core characteristics of autism, including social communication differences. Click the link below to explore which options are best for the people you serve.
      1. WPS autism assessments