I am a bilingual speech-language pathologist (SLP) who serves a caseload of 20-30 students with Down syndrome (DS) in a public school setting. At present, my students fall within the age range of 3-10 years old, but I’ve also worked with infants and adults. Since I have the opportunity to work with this population daily, other SLPs frequently ask me about how to assess these children. I’ve gotten to the point where I talk about it so much, I decided to create a quick presentation about it. I also included some considerations when testing bilingual children with DS, since my entire caseload is bilingual. This presentation is intended for SLPs, and I have used terminology that may not be parent or teacher friendly. I also wrote it specifically to help with assessing verbal school-age children with DS. When assessing non-verbal children, an AAC assessment is warranted. This is not discussed in this presentation.
To access the evidence-based presentation, click here.
For a limited time, free access has been granted for my Quick Articulation and Syllable Shape Screening Form that can be used for assessment, screening, or progress monitoring. Clinicians provide a model for each stimulus word/syllable shape and students repeat after them.
Are there any additional resources you can’t live without when testing preschool and school-age children with DS? Leave a comment with your favorites!
Kelly Ibanez, M.S., CCC-SLP
Bilingual Speech-Language Pathologist
