The Teddy Talk Test, developed by Jo Darters and Amy Cable, both of whom are highly specialist speech and language therapists, is used by the Teachers of the Deaf (TOD) with children typically five years and under.
The assessment is a valuable resource for tracking the language development of children, particularly those with hearing loss. The ability to assess a child’s understanding and use of key word phrases, as well as their development of ‘Theory of Mind’, provides a comprehensive overview of their progress.
This can be particularly beneficial for deaf children, whose developmental trajectory may differ from that of typically developing hearing children.
How it is administered
- Observation and Interaction: The child interacts with the TOD during play or conversation. The child’s communication skills, including speech sounds, vocabulary, grammar, and social communication are observed.
- Assessment Tools: Using age-appropriate assessment tools, including picture cards, toys, and prompts, the child’s expressive language (what they say) and receptive language (what they understand) is evaluated.
- Scoring: The child’s responses are scored. For example, the TOD may assess the child’s ability to name objects, follow instructions, or engage in conversation.
- Areas Assessed: The Teddy Talk Test covers various areas, such as vocabulary, sentence structure, articulation, and social communication. It helps identify any delays or difficulties.
- Parent/Caregiver Involvement: Parents or caregivers may be asked about the child’s communication at home. Their input provides a holistic view of the child’s language development.
- Results and Recommendations: Feedback is given to parents or caregivers, nurseries and schools with strategies to support language development or further evaluation if needed.
The Teddy Talk Test is just one tool among many, to assess language skills.
For class teachers it can:
- act as a detailed baseline assessment of the level of speech, language and communication development for each child starting in school. Repeating the Teddy Talk Test in the Summer Term will provide useful data for compiling evidence for the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) Profile. Teaching assistants can carry it out as well as teachers and SENCO
- help to pin point specific areas to be targeted and supported, where individual children present with speech and language difficulties. Enabling the curriculum to be differentiated appropriately
- be used to evaluate the understanding and use of language for children learning English as an additional language.
- be used for evaluating the communication skills of older children with a developmental delay, whose skills are similar to that of a preschool child
- provide an insight as to why some children are not reaching their Early Learning Goals. Their developmental difficulties with speech and language may be identified as being the root cause for behavioural and learning challenges.
- be used in areas with high levels of social deprivation, where children’s speech and language development across the cohort is often delayed. The data can be shared with OFSTED inspectors to demonstrating the skill levels of the class cohort at school entry. It is complimentary to the Reception Baseline Assessment which is a statutory requirement in England since August 2020.
Please note: Careful consideration has been given to the safety of the items that make up the Teddy Talk Test. However, it is an assessment and not a toy and children MUST NOT be left to play with the Teddy Talk Test unsupervised.
For more information about the Teddy Test Talk, please contact your Teacher of the Deaf.
Information about the development of the Teddy Test talk and how to purchase the test, can be found using the following link: Teddy Talk Test | Preschool Speech and Language Assessment