Test of Auditory Comprehension of Language

(Carrow-Woolfolk, 1999) 

What does it assess?

• Receptive comprehension – vocabulary, grammatical structures, and elaborated sentences. 

Who is it suitable for?

• Normed for children aged aged 3-11.
• Can be used with adults with developmental disabilities to yield descriptive information rather than developing age equivalence or other norm-based indices. Care should be taken to ensure the use of pictures is acceptable to older individuals (i.e., is not considered too childish).
• Must have established symbolic communication skills. 

Who is it not suitable for?

• Adults with acquired disabilities.
• Children or adults who do not have symbolic abilities.
• Individuals with severe visual impairment. 

How is it administered?

• Speech pathologist administers the test according to instructions. 

How is it scored/ interpreted? 

• Speech pathologists records response and tallies number correct prior to ceiling (test is discontinued following 3 consecutive errors).
• Profile indicates profile of receptive language skills. 

What is its availability?

• Available from Australian Distributor, Pro-Ed Australia. 
• Complete kit = $739.20.
• Pack of 25 booklets - $125.10. 

How does it contribute to a communication assessment for someone with behaviours of concern?

• Contributes to development of a comprehensive communication profile.
• Indicates the level of comprehension and therefore, the linguistic input that will be useful to the person – in this way, contributes to developing positive behaviour supports. 

References:

Carrow-Woolfolk, E. (1999). Test of Auditory Comprehension of Language - 3. Austin, TX: Pro-Ed.