RESOURCE PACKET Assessment of Language Impairment

Language/Play Developmental Scales
AGE LANGUAGE SYMBOLIC PLAY CONSTRUCTIVE PLAY
< 12 months
12 to 17
months
Intentional Communication
• Uses gestures and/or vocalizations to
regulate behavior, participate in social
interaction and reference joint attention
• Understands nonverbal, situational cues
• Initiates a topic by combining glances and
vocalizations
• Takes one or two turns
First Words
• Combines gestures and sounds to
communicate intent
• Words tend to come and go in vocabulary
• Most words denote existence, nonexistence,
recurrence, and rejection
• Repairs unsuccessful communicative
interactions by repeating, modifying the form
or using an alternative strategy
• Develops comprehension of single words to
direction, attention to relevant objects or to
suggest actions appropriate to the
immediate environment
• Points to objects in response to “show
me__” (body parts)
• Exploratory action on objects
• Sensorimotor or functional play: mouthing, throwing, banging, shaking,
pulling, turning, tearing, pushing, poking, etc.
• Uses realistic objects
conventionally
• Simple pretend play is
directed toward self (eating,
sleeping, etc.)
• Links schemes in simple
combinations (puts person in
car and pushes car)
• Combines at least two structured
objects in relational play (plays with
blocks, puts blocks in a container,
stirs with a spoon)
• Relational or functional play
predominates from 15-21 months
• Solitary or onlooker play
ED –4072 / Rev. 07.09 Language Impairment Resource Packet
Department of Education