title: A play-based methodology for assessing idiom comprehension in children with semantic-pragmatic difficulties.
abstract: In response to the lack of suitable material for assessing idiom comprehension in children with semantic-pragmatic difficulties, a new, play-based methodology is presented. The child listens to a tape-recorded story into which are embedded a range of idiomatic expressions. The child then acts out the story as it is played again, sentence by sentence. The play is video-recorded and transcribed. Actions for each idiom are categorised and are then amenable to within-child, between-child, and between-group analyses. The results of a pilot project indicate that this methodology overcomes may of the problems inherent in assessing children identified as having semantic-pragmatic difficulties.
authors.affiliation: Department of Human Communication, De Montfort University, UK.
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Kerbel
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Grunwell
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Grundy
mesh_terms: D000184:Acting Out; D002648:Child; D006801:Humans; D007805:Language Development Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis*; D007807:Language Tests; D010988:Play and Playthings; D012660:Semantics; D013067:Speech Perception