By Amy M. Wetherby, Ph.D., CCC-SLP, & Barry M. Prizant, Ph.D., CCC-SLP

CSBS™ is a norm-referenced, standardized instrument used to assess infants, toddlers, and preschoolers at risk for communication delays and impairments.

However, CSBS—used during natural play routines and other adult-child interactions—is different from other language assessment instruments. Its 22 5-point rating scales survey children's language skills as well as their symbolic development, which is demonstrated in their gestures, facial expressions, and play behaviors. Most important, CSBS is backed by technical data, is curriculum compatible, and comes packaged with everything professionals need to conduct and score an assessment.

Conducting an Assessment

CSBS can be used with infants and toddlers whose functional communication age is between 6 and 24 months and with children up to 72 months who exhibit atypical development. It should be administered by a speech–language pathologist, early interventionist, psychologist, or other professional trained to assess developmentally young children. The assessment takes about 50–75 minutes to administer.

First, parents or caregivers complete the Caregiver Questionnaire, a qualitative tool that provides background information and a baseline against which to evaluate a child's performance. The early childhood professional then takes a direct sampling of the child's communicative behaviors in structured and unstructured play situations in the child's natural environment. The easily recognizable toys, books, and other play materials (all included in the CSBS Toy Kit) and the presence of parents put children at ease and bring out their "best" communicative abilities. The Outline Cards provide step-by-step procedures for the assessments.

Ideally, the professional records the assessment to keep the situation as natural as possible (no need for note-taking while the child plays) and to ensure accurate analysis and scoring. A sampling DVD included with the kit guides you through all of the structured play activities by providing footage of assessments with a range of typically developing children. Detailed guidelines in the Examiner's Manual help you record, interpret, and quantify children's actions and speech—that's when you move to the scoring part of the assessment.

Identifying Scale Scores

CSBS's 22 5-point rating scales survey various domains (18 communicative, 4 symbolic). Data from the Caregiver Questionnaire and play observations (the Behavior Sample) are tallied on a Record Form that identifies the 22 communication and symbolic rating scales.

The 22 rating scales are organized into seven groups called clusters:

1. communicative functions
2. gestural communicative means
3. vocal communicative means
4. verbal communicative means
5. reciprocity
6. social-affective signaling
7. symbolic behavior

In all, the scoring procedure yields

• Raw scores and scale scores for the 22 scales
• Percentile ranks or standard scores for the seven clusters
• A percentile rank or standard overall composite score
• Norms by chronological age (8–24 months) or by language stage (prelinguistic, early one-word, late one-word, multiword)

The entire scoring process takes about 60–75 minutes to complete. As with the assessment process, a scoring DVD included in the CSBS complete kit models procedures for scoring the scales and includes examples from other sample asessments.

Using the Scores

Early intervention professionals use the resulting scores to identify the degree of individual children's communication impairments and to plan IFSPs. In addition, each child's initial scores can act as a baseline; by using the scores in conjunction with the normative data on typical and atypical groups, professionals can create individual profiles that will aid in comparing and monitoring children's progress in vocal and symbolic communication.

CSBS is compatible with most developmental curricula in use today, and the Examiner's Manual provides a strong link to established curricula.

CSBS System Components

The Complete CSBS Kit
Stock# 5672 / $599.00 / 1993

The complete CSBS kit includes:

• Examiner's Manual
• Toy Kit
• 2 Outline Cards
• 25 Caregiver Questionnaire Forms
• 25 Record Forms
• Sampling and Scoring DVD
• Carrying bag

The CSBS Kit without Toy Kit
Stock# 5680 / $275.00 / 1993

The CSBS Toy Kit
Stock# 5699 / $350.00 / 1993

Note: The CSBS Toy Kit is nonreturnable.

CSBS Examiner's Manual
Stock # 6679 / $70.00

CSBS Record Forms and Caregiver Questionnaire Forms (25 of each)
Stock # 6687 / $60.00

CSBS Sampling & Scoring DVD
Stock # 71882 / $150.00

We do not offer examination copies for this title. We invite you to take advantage of our 30-day money back guarantee. DETAILS