Five views of the elephant: Perspectives on the assessment of articulation and phonology in preschoolers

Special Forum on Phonology

Assessment of communication disorders is a critical component in the clinical process. The clinical wisdom of assessment is reflected in the ethical guidelines of the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association. These guidelines require an assessment for purposes of clinical decision-making and for determining if therapy services are warranted. Clinical assessments to determine eligibility for therapy services also are mandated by law and by third-party payers. In addition to being used to approve or deny services for therapy, most clinicians regularly use assessments for myriad clinical purposes from goal setting to goal outcome. On any given day a clinician may assess one client to determine if therapy is needed, assess another to ascertain therapy progress, assess a third to help make a differential diagnosis, and assess yet another dynamically.

Regardless of the type of assessment being provided, the challenge in most clinical settings is to balance thoroughness against efficiency. Thoroughness is necessary to provide the clinician a reasonable basis for decision making. Efficiency should be...