(SLDT-E: NU) Social Language Development Test–Elementary: Normative Update

The SLDT-E: NU assesses language-based skills of social interpretation and interaction with friends, the skills found to be most predictive of social language development. Specifically, it measures the language required to appropriately infer and express what another person is thinking or feeling within a social context, to make multiple interpretations, take mutual perspectives, and negotiate with and support their peers. These tasks reflect the developmental refinement of social language comprehension and expression and differentiate typically developing children from those with autism spectrum disorder.

The SLDT-E: NU has four subtests, which require students to make inferences, interpret photographed scenes, and explain how they would resolve problems with peers. The Examiner’s Manual includes a comprehensive discussion of the test’s theoretical and research-based foundation, item development, standardization, administration and scoring procedures, norms tables, and guidelines for using and interpreting the test’s results. Reliability and validity studies were conductedwith individuals with typically developing language abilities and individuals who had previously been diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder.