Description: The Rossetti Infant-Toddler
Language Scale assesses the language skills of children from
birth through 3 years of age. The scale assesses preverbal
and verbal areas of communication and interaction through
direct observation and caregiver report. Areas assessed include
(1) Interaction-Attachment (relationship between the caregiver
and the infant), (2) Pragmatics (the way language is used
to communicate and affect others), (3) Gestures, (4) Play
(both individual and interactive), (5) Language Comprehension,
and (6) Language Expression. The test consists of a parent
questionnaire and an examiner’s evaluation form that
address each of the 6 areas. The parent questionnaire allows
the examiner to familiarize himself with the developmental
concerns expressed by the parent and helps to determine the
age level at which testing should begin. The examiner’s
job is to establish both a baseline and ceiling developmental
age by observing, eliciting, or using a caregiver’s
report of various behaviors listed in each of the six developmental
areas.
Uses of Information: The primary
use of the Rossetti Infant-Toddler Language Scale is the early
detection of language delays in infants and toddlers. When
assessment results indicate a child needs early language intervention,
a therapy program is developed with specific goals.
Reliability: This measure has
not been standardized, and there is no statistical information
on it.
Validity: This measure has not
been standardized, and there is no statistical information
on it.
Method of Scoring: If a parent
questionnaire is completed, the description of current skills
helps to determine the age level at which testing should begin.
Otherwise, the examiner uses the child’s chronological
age to determine the age interval from which the questions
should first be asked. A baseline and ceiling level of performance
is established in each of the six developmental areas. To
establish a baseline level (all items are mastered in the
developmental area), the assessment is begun at six months
below the child’s chronological age or suspected developmental
level. Once a baseline level is established, testing proceeds
forward until the child fails all items for a developmental
area at a particular age range (ceiling level). Items are
considered “passed” if the behavior in question
is noted in one of the 3 following ways: (1) Observe (O);
(2) Elicit (E); (3) Report (R).
Interpretability: An individual
baseline and ceiling age level for each of the six developmental
areas may be reported in order to determine the child’s
relative areas of strengths or weaknesses. In addition, an
examiner can compute a global baseline and ceiling age level,
which is the oldest age level at which the child mastered
all items across all developmental areas. The global basal
and ceiling can provide information about the child’s
performance ability to compare to his/her chronological or
adjusted age.
Training Support: The examiner
is free to call the publisher with questions related to the
administering of the test. In addition, the manual has tips
on how to elicit responses or when and where to look for them.
Adaptations/Special Instructions for
Individuals with Disabilities: None
Report Preparation Support: The
Examiner’s Manual contains general suggestions on how
to present reports and recommendations to parents. The examiner
should (1) remain cautious of providing long-term predictions
about the child’s potential and needs; (2) remain sensitive
to the amount of detail that is offered during the initial
conference; (3) schedule a second conference to go over the
results in greater detail; (4) actively involve the caregivers
in the conference as soon as possible and ask for feedback
from the caregiver; and (5) present programming recommendations
as options rather than requirements.
References:
Rossetti, Louis. The Rossetti Infant-Toddler Language Scale:
A Measure of Communication and Interaction. East Moline, IL:
LinguiSystems, 1990.
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