Just Testing You

It's been a while since I gave Caleb a test. I know most people don't test their children, but I'm a speech pathologist with a heart for diagnostics, so I do. When Caleb was a baby, I used to keep up with him on a Rossetti Infant-Toddler Language Scale and sometimes a HELP checklist just to make sure he was hitting his milestones.

When he became a toddler, I was able to keep up with all of his "domains" using the DAYC (Developmental Assessment of Young Children). When he was 12 months old, these were his age-equivalents:

Cognitive - 16 mos

Communication - 11 mos (Freaked me out!)

Social-Emotional - 15 mos

Physical - 10 mos (Freaked Rudy out!)

Self-help - 14 mos

That's the last time I tested him, so I decided it was time for a re-evaluation at 2 yrs, 10 mos. I didn't have a global test to give him this time, so I just tested his language. (This is good, because it's really the only area I'm qualified to test him in at this age.) It's not that we are concerned at all about Caleb. I'm just curious and wanted to know his score and his age equivalents. I gave him the PLS-4 (Preschool Language Scale). Here are his scores (85-115 is considered to be normal):

Auditory Comprehension (what he understands): Standard Score = 125! Age equivalent = 4 yrs, 1 mo

Expressive Communication (what he can express to others): Standard Score = 123 Age equivalent = 3 yrs, 11 mos

Total Language: Standard Score = 127 Age Equivalent = 4 yrs

Needless to say, this SLP Mama is happy. No wonder he's talking our ears off all the time. His mouth thinks he's 4 years old. Oh...by the way, it wasn't exactly torture for Caleb. He liked "playing Mama's work game."