Assessing Language Skills of Children Within the Head Start Program Using Language Sampling Analysis
Date of Graduation
5-2025
Document Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Bachelor of Science in Communication Sciences and Disorders
Degree Level
Undergraduate
Department
Communication Disorders and Occupational Therapy
Advisor/Mentor
Bowers, Andrew
Committee Member
Bowers, Lisa
Abstract
Fluency disorders, including stuttering and cluttering, disrupt one’s natural rate of speech and can cause implications for one’s emotional well-being. This study explores the relationship between language factors and stuttered events in preschool-age children by analyzing a spontaneous language sample using two transcription software programs, CLAN and SALT. A language sample was collected from a child enrolled in a local Head Start program and was transcribed and analyzed using the software programs. Results from CLAN’s KIDEVAL and FLUCALC features offered analysis of the child’s language profile, as well as SALT’s standards measure report feature. This study highlights the importance of LSA in the assessment process for fluency disorders along with creating intervention plans.
Keywords
Language Sampling Analysis: Head Start: Fluency: CLAN: SALT
Citation
Bowen, L. (2025). Assessing Language Skills of Children Within the Head Start Program Using Language Sampling Analysis. Communication Disorders and Occupational Therapy Undergraduate Honors Theses Retrieved from https://scholarworks.uark.edu/cdotuht/8
