SPEECH AND LANGUAGE EVALUATION

Diagnostic Report
Fall 2020
CONFIDENTIAL

Client: Amjad Smith Date of Evaluation: September 8th, 2020

Clinician: Mrs. Gallery Smith, M.A., CCC-SLP

Mother’s Name: Miri Smith Chronological Age: 3:3

Classification: Mixed receptive expressive

REASON FOR REFERRAL

On September 8, 2020, Amjad, a 3-years 3-months-old boy was evaluated for receptive and expressive
language disorder to determine his requirements to meet his early intervention needs through speech
and language services.

CASE HISTORY

Language and Speech Development:

Amjad was evaluated on June 1, 2020 at Beaumont Children’s hospital to formally rule in/out an Autism
Spectrum Disorder (ASD). The results indicated that his current presentation meets the diagnostic
criteria for an Autism Spectrum Disorder accompanied by mixed receptive expressive language disorder.

TESTS ADMINISTERED

Preschool Language Scales (5th ed.) (PLS-5)

EVALUATION

Formal Language Assessment

The formal evaluation, PLS-5, consists of interaction between the examiner and the child using a variety
of toys and items as well as a picture manual. During the formal portion of the assessment, Amjad was
compliant but distracted in the pictures and activities. Although the nature of the assessment is long,
Amjad was able to complete both subtests of the formal portion of the assessment in the same day.
Results of the PLS-5 are as follows.
The Preschool Language Scale, 5th Edition (PLS-5) was administered to assess Amjad’s receptive and
expressive language skills. The test is composed of two subscales; Auditory Comprehension and
Expressive Comprehension. Auditory Comprehension evaluates receptive language skills, or how much
language a child understands. This portion assesses comprehension of basic vocabulary, concepts, and
grammatical markers. Expressive Comprehension is used to determine how well a child communicates
with others and how well a child can communicate their own thoughts, wants, and needs. Within this
portion, children are asked to name common objects, use concepts that describe objects and express
quantity, and use specific prepositions, grammatical markers, and sentence structure.

This test is designed for use with children from birth to 6 years and 11 months of age. The PLS-5 yields
norm-referenced scores. The mean standard score is 100 with a standard deviation of 15, meaning that
standard scores that fall between 85 and 115 are within normal limits.

Amjad’s scores were as follows:

Raw Score: Standard Score: Percentile Rank:

Auditory 3 50 1
Comprehension
Expressive 6 50 1
Communication
Total Language 9 50 1
Score

For the Auditory Comprehension section of the PLS-5, Amjad’s standard score was 50. Amjad was in the
1th percentile, which indicates that he performed better than 1% of the other children his age in the
norming sample. Amjad’s standard score of 50 is with the below the average score range of 85-115,
which indicates his Auditory Comprehension skills are below normal limits for his age. Amjad received
credit for the following Auditory Comprehension tasks of the PLS-5: Understanding verbs (eat, drink and
sleep), identifying things you wear, following commands with gestural cues, identifying photographs of
familiar objects, demonstrating self-directed play, relational play and functional play. Amjad did not
receive credit for the following Auditory Comprehension tasks of the PLS-5: understanding spatial
concepts (in, out of, on, off), making inferences, understanding analogies (ex: You sleep in a bed, you sit
on a ____) and understanding “negatives” in sentences.

In the Expressive Communication section of the PLS-5, Amjad received a standard score of 50. His
percentile rank was 1%, which indicates that he performed better than 1% of his peers based on the
norming population. Amjad’s standard score of 50 is more than -3 standard deviation below the mean of
100, which indicates that his expressive language skills are below normal limits. Amjad received credit
for the following Expressive Communication tasks of the PLS-5: producing CVC (consonant-vowel-
consonant) word combinations, using more words than gestures, using a variety of words for pragmatic
functions (requesting assistance such as “help”, answering both yes and no questions, using words to
get attention, and using words to ask for repetition), using plurals, and using verb-ing words. Amjad did
not receive credit for the following Expressive Communication tasks of the PLS-5: Answering what and
where questions (from a picture manual), naming described objects and answering questions logically
(ex: what do you do if your hands are dirty?).

Amjad had a Total Language Standard Score of 50, which is in the 1 th percentile, meaning that he
performed better than 1% of his peers in the norming sample. This score indicates that Amjad’s
receptive and expressive language development is well below the normal limits.

Oral-Motor/Feeding

Oral-facial structures were symmetrical at rest and upon sound production. Strength and tone of the
oral-facial musculature was judged to be within normal limits. A closed mouth posture was
inconsistently observed at rest. Drooling and pooling of saliva in the oral cavity were observed, and were
reported to be a result of teething and not typical. Amjad was reported to eat only pureed foods
without choking or gagging. He was reported to drink from a bottle without liquid loss or coughing. He
was not reported to be exposed to an open cup. He was not reported to suck his thumb or utilize a
pacifier. Oral-motor/feeding skills are within normal limits.

SUMMARY

Amjad, aged 3-years 3-months, was seen for a speech-language evaluation due to concerns with his
receptive and expressive language skills. According to the PLS-5, Amjad’s receptive and expressive
language skills are delayed. Amjad did not follow directions. Amjad has no words/word approximations
in his vocabulary except for random babbling. He does not have words for his favorite toys, foods, or
people, and does not produce any two-word combinations.

RECOMMENDATIONS

Amjad meets eligibility requirements to receive speech-language therapy through the Early intervention
system.

SIGNATURES

___________________________________ __________________________
Gallery Smith, M.S., CCC-SLP Date

___________________________________ __________________________
Seline Smith, Student Clinician Date

____________________________________ __________________________
Parent’s Signature Date