Assessing Social and Communication Skills in Infancy

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Abstract
This paper describes a set of scales designed to assess social and communication skills that an infant typically acquires in the first 30 months of life. The advantages and disadvantages of alternative methods for gathering the assessment information, ranging from caregiver interview to structured testing, are considered. One of the most critical aspects of the structured test, the role of the tester as an interactive partner for the infant, is discussed at length. The paper presents reliability data suggesting that the child's communication performance is highly stable over time with the same partner, but that there are substantial differences with different partners. The implications of the findings for assessment and intervention practices are noted.

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