ECC-DHH Communication

The area of Communication includes: Auditory Skills and Speech Development, ASL Development, Receptive Communication, and Expressive Communication. 

Auditory Skills Development  

(Detection) • Uses body language to indicate when something is heard (turn head, widening eyes, stops action, quiets, facial changes)  • Shows awareness of loud environmental sounds (turns to sound source, alerts or quiets in response to loud sound) • Shows awareness of soft environmental sounds (microwave bell, clock ticking) • Shows awareness of voices, spoke at typical loudness levels • Detects the Ling Six Sounds • Detects the speaker’s voice when background noise is present • Searches to find out where a sound is coming from (Discrimination) • Discriminates the voice of a speaker talking and sounds in his/her environment • Discriminates different types of environmental sounds (dog barking versus a phone ringing) • Hears difference between fast versus slow speech • Hears difference between high versus high pitch • Discriminates a speaker using a whispering voice versus conversational level • Discriminates singing versus conversation • Discriminates family members’ voices • Discriminates minimal pair words  • Discriminates similar sounding phrases and sentences (Identification) • Hears his/her name when called • Identifies an item with an associated sound (train goes choo choo) • Hears difference between long and short, one-syllable words versus two-syllable words • Understand if the speaker is happy, angry, or surprised by the change in their vocal tones • Identify commonly used words • Identify the Ling Sounds • Identify familiar songs  (Comprehension) • Follow one-step directions • Follow two-step directions • Follow three-step directions • Has an auditory memory for phrases and sentences • Sequences a story with: 3 events, 4 events, and more than 4 events • Understands the question forms: what, where, who, why, when • Understands and responds appropriately to concepts in phrases and sentences • Understands the use of negatives in phrases and sentences • Understands frequently heard phrases/sentences • Acquires information incidentally through audition alone • Understands most of what is said through audition alone • Recognizes there has been a breakdown in communication and implements repair strategies to improve the listening environment. Listening in Background Noise (also covered in Auditory: Environmental Management)  • Listens to speech sounds in a variety of situations with added background noise & is able to respond appropriately • Listens to words in a variety of situations with added background noise & is able to respond appropriately • Listens to phrases in a variety of situations with added background noise & is able to respond appropriately • Listens to an entire message in all situations with added background noise & responds appropriately Listening Skills (also covered in Auditory: Environmental Management)  • Attends to speaker • Follows directions • Uses amplification appropriately • Provides appropriate feedback to the message • Identifies when there is a communication breakdown • Uses repair strategies • Manages the environment  Identifying Aspects of Good Listening Situations (also covered in Auditory: Environmental Management)  • Recognizes good/bad listening situations • Identifies good listening characteristics (lighting, noise level, preferential seating) • Implements repair strategies to improve the listening environment  

asl development

• Uses ASL Babbling - not true sign • Uses one word signs – not always formed correctly (e.g., uses ‘1’ for Mommy instead of ‘5’) • Uses one word signs which may include pointing • Uses signs reflecting simple hand shapes (“c” “o”) • Uses single signs which expand to two • Expands to two or three signs plus sign or facial expression • Uses sign order to show semantic relations (e.g., mommy work) • Begins to use classifiers to show objects (e.g., cup) • Uses simple sentence construction • Uses classifiers to show movement of objects (e.g., “cup” moving away from body) • Modifies verbs to show manner or temporal aspects by changing the movement of the signs or facial expressions (e.g., “walk” with fast hand • Expands complex sentence structures marked with topic continuation, relative clauses and conditional sentences • Uses noun and verb sign modifications showing spatial relations of objects • Uses wh-questions including “when” and bracketing • Demonstrates negations with headshake or “no” sign • Distinguishes yes/no questions with facial expressions • Distinguishes wh- questions with facial expressions along with signs • Continues to use simple handshapes and attempts complex signs but substitutes simpler handshapes (e.g., water with 5 handshape) • Combines three or four signs, including indexing and facial expressions movements – quickly walking) • Shows negation by adding handshake to nonnegation sign or sentence • Signs “why” and “who” with facial expressions • All deictic pronouns (e.g., this book, that person, those shoes) used correctly • Uses more complex handshapes correctly (e.g., 3 in bug, x like apple) • Begins to use complex sentence construction including topicalization (e.g., “ball” with one hand, sign with other hand) • Shows verb agreement with nouns • Expands verb sign modifications to show number amounts • Begins noun sign modification to show intensity, size, shape and quality of objects with movement and facial expressions • Uses wh-questions including “for-for” “how” and “which” • Consistently uses complex handshapes, including • Uses verb agreement with nouns for abstract spatial location • Uses complex verbs of motion  • Uses more descriptive language enriched with more advanced features fingerspelling and alternating hands  

speech development

• Babbling • Begins producing Vowel sounds • Produces /p/, /b/, /m/, /h/, /w/ • Produces /n/, /g/, /ng/  • Produces /k/, /d/, /t/  • Uses vowel (V)/consonant (C) combinations from sounds above • Produces /f/, /y/  • Produces /r/, /l/ • Produces /s/  • Produces /ch/, /sh/  • Produces /z/  • Produces /j/  • Produces /v/  • Uses CVC combinations from sounds above • Produces voiceless /th/  • Produces voiced /th/  • Produces (zh) • Use of CVC combinations from all sounds  

receptive communication

• Watches the speaker’s face • Aware of non-verbal cues • Responds appropriately to non-verbal communication • Aware of cause/effect in their environment • Responds to speaker’s voice by smiling or making sounds or turning toward the speaker • Responds to the speaker using meaningful gestures (turning head, pointing or grabbing) • Takes turns within interactions • Recognizes names of common objects or people • Understands simple requests • Distinguishes between pronouns, prepositions, and adjectives • Remembers story order • Understands number or quantity concept. • Identifies cause/effect within scenarios • Follows more complex directions • Answers who, what, where, when and yes/no questions • Takes turns within conversations • Understands the difference between fact/opinion • Answers if-what, how, or why questions • Differentiates singular and plural in commands • Understands the elements of a story (e.g., beginning, middle, end, characters) • Sequences pictures or events from a story • Understands opposites • Demonstrates cause/effect as appropriate • Identifies a fact or opinion • Sequences directions given in any situation • Follows multi-step, complex directions • Understands jokes, riddles and idioms • Makes inferences • Writes a story with all the elements (e.g., beginning, middle, end, characters) • Describes facts and opinions as appropriate • Follows simple directions • Responds to others’ emotions appropriately • Identifies objects that are named • Matches familiar objects  

expressive communication

• Produces vocalizations and sounds • Uses non-verbal communication appropriately • Sounds begin to take shape into words • Imitates syllables, pitch, and intonation • Uses single words  • Combines two-words into one (allgone) • Uses jargon mixed with some true words • Uses mainly nouns with a few adjectives • Consistently uses “no” • Begins asking what, where and who questions • Uses 2-3 pronouns(you, I, it) • Uses nouns and some verbs plus some adjectives • Uses place terms (here, outside) • Uses simple negation (no) • Combines words in any order • Combines 2 words in a meaningful order • Refers to self as “I”, “me” • Combines 2-3 words in a sentence • Uses prepositions “in” and “on” • Uses some pronouns (this, that, these, those) • Uses some personal pronouns (me, mine, you, your, yours) • Uses some articles (a, the) • Uses plurals • Uses negative terms (no, not, can’t, don’t) • Uses wh-questions (where, what doing) • Uses present progressive (ing) • Uses catenative verb forms (gonna, wanna, hafta) • Uses yes/no questions • Uses adjectives after articles and other modifiers (some, other, more, one) • Uses more prepositions (with, of, to, for) • Consistently uses plural and possessive morphemes (cats, John’s) • Uses irregular past verb forms (came, went) • Uses more personal pronouns (he, him, she, we, our) • Uses auxiliaries with main verb in positive, declarative sentences • Uses yes/no questions with subject-verb • Uses wh-questions with auxiliary verbs at the end (Where the bus is) • Uses more mature pronouns (another, something) • Uses irregular verb forms (am, was, are) •  Uses a variety of sentence structures and mature language  •  Uses idioms, riddles, and jokes •  Uses derivative endings (-er, -ist) •  Uses comparative forms of adjectives •  Uses past tense modal forms (could, would) •  Uses reflexive pronouns (myself, yourself) •  Uses wh-questions with subject-verb inversion •  Differentiates tenses •  Uses the passive rule (The file was put away by the teacher.) •  Uses interrogative and declarative statements • Uses complex verb forms (tense+modal+have+en+ be+ing+verb) • Use 50-100 words • Describes the function and name of an object • Uses regular past tense (ed) • Uses different forms of “be” • Uses third-person singular • Uses present tense modals (can, may, will) • Uses forms of “do” • Consistently uses contractions • Separates verb from adverb or participle (He took it off) • Uses “do” in forming yes/no questions • Uses negatives formed with a copular “be”    

communication – asl Assessments:

• Checklist of Emerging ASL Skills  

Age Range: All ages 

• ASL-DT (American Sign Language Discrimination Test) 

Age Range: 13 years + 

• Carolina Picture Vocabulary Test (CPVT) 

Age Range: 2.5 years – 11.6 years  

• MacArthur Communicative Development Inventory for ASL (ASL-CDI) 

Age Range: 8 months – 36 months 

• Motor Skill Resource - 2nd Edition — Language First 

Age Range: 1 year – older  

• PARC: Readiness Checklists 

Age Range: PreK – 12 years 

• Signed Reading Fluency for Deaf Children (ASL Rubric) 

Age Range: 4+ years 

• Test of American Sign Language (TASL) 

Age Range: 8 years – 15 years 

• Visual Communication and Sign Language Checklist 

Age Range: Birth – 5 years 

communication – auditory & speech development Assessments:

• Arizona Articulation Proficiency Scale, Third Edition 

Age Range: 1.5 years – 18 years 

• Auditory Learning Guide 

 Age Range: All ages 

• Auditory Skills Checklist 

Age Range: All ages 

• AuSpLan - Auditory Speech and Language: A Manual for Professionals Working with Children Who Have Cochlear Implants or Amplification 

Age Range: All ages 

• Central Institute Picture Speech Intelligibility Evaluation (SPINE)  

Age Range: 6 years – up 

• Comprehensive Test of Phonological Processing (CTOPP)  

Age Range: 4.0 – 24.11 years 

• Cottage Acquisition Scales for Listening, Language and Speech (CASSLS)  

Age Range: Preschool – up 

• Developmental Approach to Successful Listening II (DASL II)  

Age Range: All ages 

• Early Speech Perception Test (ESP) for Profoundly Hearing-Impaired Children. 

Age Range: 3 years – up 

• Functional Auditory Performance Indicators (FAPI): An Integrated Approach to Auditory Development 

Age Range: All ages 

• Goldman Fristoe Test of Articulation, Second Edition  

Age Range: 2:0 - 21:11 

• Ling Phonetic Level Speech Evaluation  

Age Range: All ages 

• The Listening Inventory for Education: an Efficacy Tool (L.I.F.E.)  

Age Range: 8 years of age – up 

• The Lexical Neighborhood Test (LNT) and the Multi-syllabic Lexical Neighborhood Test (MLNT) 

Age Range: 3 years – up 

• MacArthur –Bates Communication Development Inventories, Second Edition (CDIs)  

Words and Gestures Age Range: 8- to 18- months of age 

Words & Sentences Age Range: 16 to 30 months of age 

•  Meaningful Auditory Integration Scale (MAIS) 

Age Range: 2 years of age – up 

• Infant-Toddler Meaningful Auditory Integration Scale (IT-MAIS) 

Age Range: Infant – 2 years of age 

• Identifying Early Phonological Needs in Children with Hearing Loss (Paden-Brown Phonological Kit)  

Age range: All ages 

• Photo Articulation Test (PAT-3)  

Age Range: 3 years 0 months – 8 years 11 months 

• Preschool Connected Speech Inventory 

Age Range: Not specified   

• SKI*HI Language Development Scales  

Age Range: Birth – 5 years 

• Speech and Voice Evaluation Form or the Intelligibility Rating Scale (NTID)  

 Age Range: All ages 

• Spontaneous Language Samples (p. 10 – 15)  

Age Range: All ages 

• The Speech Perception Instructional Curriculum and Evaluation (SPICE)  

Age Range: All ages 

communication – expressive & receptive Assessments:

• Assessments for Children’s Language Comprehension (ACLC) 

Age Range: 3 years – 7 years 

• Boehm Test of Basic Concepts - 3rd Edition (Boehm-3)  

Age Range: Preschool – Second Grade 

• Bracken Basic Concept Scale 3 Expressive (BBCS-E)  

Age Range: 3 years 0 months – 7 years 11 months  

• Brigance Diagnostic Inventory of Early Development II  

Age Range: Birth – 7 years of age 

• Brigance Diagnostic Inventory of Essential Skills  

Age Range: 7 years of age – 11 years of age 

• Carolina Picture Vocabulary Test (CPVT)  

 Age Range: 2 years 6 months – 16 years of age 

• Clinical Evaluation of Language Fundamentals- Preschool 2 (CELF-P) 

Age Range: 3 years of age – 6 years 11 months 

• Comprehensive Assessment of Spoken Language (CASL)  

Age Range: 3 years of age – 21 years of age 

• Comprehensive Receptive/Expressive Vocabulary (CREVT-2)  

Age Range: All ages 

• Expressive One-Word Picture Vocabulary Test (EOWPVT)  

Age Range: 2 years of age – up 

•  Kaufman Test of Educational Achievement Second Edition (KTEA)  

Age Range: 4 years 6 months – 25 years of age 

•   Language Processing Test (LPT)  

Age Range: 5 years of age – 11 years of age 

•  MacArthur –Bates Communication Development Inventories, Second Edition (CDIs)  

Words and Gestures Age Range: 8- to 18- months of age 

Words & Sentences Age Range: 16 to 30 months of age 

• Oral and Written Language Scales (OWLS)  

Age Range: 3 years of age – 21 years of age 

• Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test (PPVT-3)  

Age Range: 2 years 6 months – up  

• Preschool Language Scales | Fifth Edition (PLS-5) 

Age Range: Birth – 7 years 11 months  

• Qualitative Reading Inventory  

Age Range: 1st grade – 12th grade  

• Receptive One-Word Picture Vocabulary Test (ROWPVT)  

Age Range: 2 years of age – up 

• Receptive-Expressive Emerging Language Scale (REEL-3)  

Age Range: Birth – 3 years of age 

• Rhode Island Test of Language Structure  

Age Range: 3 years of age – 6 years of age 

• Rosetti Infant-Toddler Language Scale  

Age Range: Birth – 3 years of age 

• SKI*HI Language Development Scales  

Age Range: Birth – 5 years 

• Standardized Test for the Assessment of Reading (STAR)  

Age Range: K – 12th grade 

• Structured Photographic Expressive Language III (SPELT-3)  

Age Range: 4 years 0 months – 9 years 11 months 

• Test of Adolescent and Adult Language (TOAL-4) 

Age Range: 12 years 0 months – 24 years 11 months  

•  Test of Early Language Development (TELD)  

Age Range: 3 years 0 months – 7 years 11 months 

• Test of Early Reading Ability- Deaf or Hard of Hearing (TERA-D/HH)  

Age Range: 3 years of age – 13 years of age 

• Test of Language Development (TOLD)  

Age Range: 4 years of age – 8 years 11 months  

• Test of Language Development-Intermediate (TOLD-I)  

Age Range: 8 years of age – 17 years 11 months  

• Test of Semantic Skills – Primary (TOSS-P)  

Age Range: 4 years of age – 8 years 11 months  

•  The WORD Test- Adolescent  

Age Range: 12 years of age – 17 years 11 months  

• The WORD Test- R Elementary  

Age Range: 6 years of age – 17 years 11 months 

• Teacher Assessment of Grammatical Structures (TAGS) 

Age Range: 3 years of age – 12 years of age 

• Teacher Assessment of Spoken Language (TASL)  

Age Range: Birth – up 

• The Test for Auditory Comprehension of Language-Fourth Edition (TACL-4)  

Age Range: 3 years 0 months – 12 years 11 months 

•  The Receptive–Expressive Emergent Language Test–Fourth Edition (REEL-4)  

Age Range: Birth – 36 months 

• The Rossetti Infant-Toddler Language Scale: A Measure of Communication and Interaction 

Age Range: Birth – 3 years of age 

• The Screening Instrument for Targeting Educational Risk – Preschool (S.I.F.T.E.R.) 

Age Range: 3 years of age – Kindergarten 

• Utley Lipreading Test  

Age Range: All ages 

communication– asl resources:

Label Your World 

• Activity: Go around the classroom or home and label objects with the ASL signs picture 

• What to Do: Place sticky notes on items like "door," "table," and "window" with the corresponding ASL sign and printed English word. 

Signing Songs 

• Activity: Choose a simple nursery rhyme song and learn to sign the lyrics in ASL. 

• What to Do: Use a popular children's song like "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star" and sign the words as you sing. Find various signers on YouTube signing the song or nursery rhyme to increase vocabulary exposure. 

Roles Switch Play Scenarios 

• Activity: Create simple role-playing scenarios where students must use ASL to communicate. 

• What to Do: Pretend to order food at a restaurant. One student plays the waiter, and the other is the customer. Using a created menu (that incorporates visuals of food and their coordinated ASL sign) to place an order for lunch. 

ASL Bingo 

• Activity: Create Bingo cards with ASL signs. Call out the signs, and students mark them on their cards. 

• What to Do: If you sign and announce "tree," students find and mark the visual sign for "tree" on their cards. 

Daily Routine Signing 

• Activity: Have students sign their daily routines to each other before and during transitioning. 

• What to Do: Sign "wake up," "brush teeth," "eat breakfast," and "go to school." 

communication– receptive communication resources:

Follow the Leader 

• What to Do: One person (the leader) gives simple directions like "clap your hands" or "jump up and down." Everyone else follows the leader. 

• Purpose: Following one step and sequential directions, understanding requests. 

Story Sequencing 

• What to Do: Use picture cards from a simple story. Ask the children to arrange the cards in the correct order. 

• Purpose: Remembering story order, understanding elements of a story. 

Guess the Object 

• What to Do: Have a mystery box or bag with common objects. Describe an object without naming it, and let the children guess what it is. 

• Purpose: Identifying objects, understanding descriptions. 

communication– expressive communication resources:

Show and Tell 

• What to Do: Each child selects an item (from home or a classroom object) and describes it to the class. Encourage them to explain what it is and why it's special. 

• Purpose: Incorporate nouns and adjectives, expressing thoughts. 

Animal Sound Imitation Game 

• What to Do: Make different animal sounds and have the children imitate them. Ask them to name the animal after making the sound. 

• Purpose: Producing vocalizations, using single words. 

Picture Storytelling 

• What to Do: Provide children with a series of pictures. Ask them to create a story using the images. 

• Purpose: Combining words in sentences, sequencing events. 

Action Words 

• What to Do: Show pictures of different actions (running, jumping, swimming) and ask the children to act them out then announce their action word. 

• Purpose: Using verbs and actions, combining words. 

communication– auditory communication resources:

Listening Walk 

• What to Do: Go for a walk and listen to the sounds around you. Can you hear the leaves rustling, people talking, or a dog barking? Bring attention to each sound you notice and model. 

• How It Helps: This helps auditory learners become more aware of environmental sounds and encourages exploring the sounds in them. 

Sound Hunt 

• What to Do: Go on a sound hunt around your classroom. Set up learning to listen toys around a room. When you find the object, make the corresponding sound. (Ex: airplane, cow, truck, car, baby, ghost) 

• How It Helps: This activity helps auditory learners connect sounds to common objects.  

Sound Sorting 

• What to Do: Gather different objects that make sounds (like a drum, a bell, and a whistle). Sort them into groups based on the type and create the coordinated sound to object. 

• How It Helps: This activity helps you learn to discriminate between different sounds and encourages categorizing.