TECHNICAL REPORT
Diagnostic Evaluation of
Articulation and Phonology—
U.S. Edition (DEAP)
Barbara Dodd, Zhu Hua, Sharon Crosbie, Alison Holm, and Anne Ozanne
Overview From the Diagnostic Screen results, you can determine
if additional testing is needed and, if so, the appropriate
The Diagnostic Evaluation of Articulation and Phonology, DEAP test to administer. The Articulation, Phonology, and
U.S. Edition (DEAP) is a comprehensive, individually Word Inconsistency Assessments then help clinicians
administered, norm-referenced battery designed to differentiate between disorders of articulation; delayed
provide differential diagnoses of speech disorders in phonological development and consistent phonological
children ages 3.0-8.11 years. Five tests (two screens and disorders; and inconsistent phonological disorders,
three assessments) comprise the DEAP assessment respectively. If there are concerns about a possible
process. Although you are not required to administer all oral motor disorder, the Oral Motor Screen may be
test components, each screen can be administered in 5 administered to determine if an in-depth assessment of
minutes and each assessment in 15 minutes. oral motor skills is warranted.
Assessment Process
Diagnostic
Screen
Delayed or atypical Delayed or atypical Inconsistent single-word
articulation phonological error pattern productions
Stimulable for some age- Stimulable for all age-
appropriate phonemes appropriate phonemes
• Articulation • Articulation • Phonology • Word
Assessment Assessment Assessment Inconsistency
• Oral Motor • Oral Motor Assessment
Screen Screen • Phonology
• Phonology Assessment
Assessment • Oral Motor
Screen
2 | Diagnostic Evaluation of Articulation and Phonology—U.S. Edition (DEAP)
Features of Deap Screen/Assessment Description
DEAP incorporates the following features: Diagnostic Screen:
• A five-minute Diagnostic Screen that is appropriate This 5-minute screen evaluates Single-Word Production,
for general screening of speech disorders and for Phoneme Stimulability, and Single-Word Inconsistency.
initial referrals • Single-Word Production enables you to sample a
• An assessment process customized to the needs number of American English phonemes quickly through
of the individual child based on the results of the the use of pictures to determine if further assessment
Diagnostic Screen of articulation and phonology is warranted.
• An Articulation Assessment for evaluating consonants • Phoneme Stimulability enables you to test the child’s
and vowels in words, plus opportunities for determining ability to correctly imitate a phoneme initially produced
stimulability of error phonemes both in isolation and in in error in the Single-Word Production task.
syllable contexts • Single-Word Inconsistency enables you to determine
• A Phonology Assessment for determining error the consistency of the child’s word production after the
patterns and similarities in phoneme production across child renames the 10 pictures from the Single-Word
single words and connected speech contexts Production task.
• A Word Inconsistency Assessment for examining Articulation Assessment:
the variability of a child’s phonological error patterns The Articulation Assessment gives you the opportunity
• An Oral Motor Screen for identifying oral to examine the child’s ability to produce individual
motor difficulties that may require further phonemes in words, syllables, and/or in isolation.
in-depth assessment You can establish the child’s phoneme inventory and
• An analysis of syllable structures (i.e., phonemes phoneme stimulability inventory as well as determine the
in the syllable-initial and syllable-final positions, child’s performance relative to his or her age peers. The
syllable shapes, and number of syllables in words) in assessment consists of two tasks: Articulation Single-
target words in the Diagnostic Screen, Articulation Word Production and Phoneme Stimulability.
Assessment, and Phonology Assessment • Articulation Single-Word Production, the first step in
• A listing of dialectal variations of words in the DEAP determining if a child is able to correctly articulate
tests collected from the normative sample. vowels, and consonants in syllable-initial and syllable-
final positions, includes 30 pictures that target words
consisting primarily of CVC syllable shapes.
Uses of Deap • Phoneme Stimulability provides the child with an
opportunity to imitate the phonemes that were
DEAP can be used to:
produced in error in the Articulation Single-Word
• Screen a child’s articulation, phonological, and Production task.
oral motor skills to determine if further assessment
Phonology Assessment:
is needed
Through the Phonology Single-Word Production and
• Determine if a child has an articulation disorder,
Connected Speech tasks, the Phonology Assessment
consistent phonological disorder or inconsistent
helps you to evaluate a child’s use of phonological
phonological disorder
error patterns and to identify and classify any error
• Determine eligibility for service patterns in the child’s speech as age-appropriate,
• Plan intervention; and delayed, or atypical.
• Measure treatment efficacy. • Phonology Single-Word Production enables you to
examine the child’s use of error patterns in 50 pictures.
3 | Diagnostic Evaluation of Articulation and Phonology—U.S. Edition (DEAP)
• Connected Speech is a three-picture description task language disorder. Children with a diagnosis of autism
that targets 14 words from Phonology Single-Word spectrum disorder, severe emotional disorder or any
Production. condition that would prevent the child from responding
to the test stimuli in a standard fashion without any
modification to the test were excluded from the studies.
Standardization Sample
The participants in the study of children with an
The standardization and related validity and reliability articulation disorder had been previously diagnosed
research for DEAP occurred in March, 2005 and with delayed or disordered articulation skills and were
continued through October, 2005. It involved over 650 enrolled in speech therapy for articulation.
children between the ages of 3 years, 0 months through The participants in the study of children with
8 years, 11 months. The sample, based on the 2003 U.S. phonological disorder had been previously diagnosed
Census was stratified on the basis of age, race/ethnicity, with a phonological disorder and were enrolled in
geographic region, and parent education level. speech therapy for phonology.
Of the children included in the normative sample, 5.7% The participants in the study of children with an oral
had been previously diagnosed with an articulation, motor disorder had been previously diagnosed with an
phonological, or oral motor disorder. oral motor disorder and receiving speech therapy for
articulation, phonological, and/or oral motor disorders.
Children could have been diagnosed with apraxia of
% of U.S.
n % of Sample speech, dysarthria, cerebral palsy, head injury, or stroke.
Population
Race/Ethnicity
African
American
94 14.46 14.17 Summary
Asian 25 3.85 3.94
The Diagnostic Evaluation of Articulation and Phonology,
Hispanic 127 19.54 19.56
U.S. Edition (DEAP) provides you with the flexibility you
White 386 59.38 59.05
need to confidently assess children’s articulation and
Other 18 2.77 3.27
phonological skills efficiently. It enables you to gather
Geographic Region
the information you need to determine the appropriate
Midwest 135 20.77 22.16
therapy goals and objectives.
Northeast 108 16.62 17.43
South 238 36.61 35.73 The test has undergone stringent quality control
West 169 26.00 24.67
measures in the standardization process, including
precautions to ensure that items are fair to all students.
Careful review by professionals assures that ethic and
Clinical Samples gender bias have been eliminated.
Three clinical studies were conducted during the
standardization sampling. The participants ranged in
age from 3 years, 0 months through 8 years, 11 months.
Each study included children from across the country
and some children with a concomitant mild- to-moderate
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