Towards Development of Guidelines for Virtual Administration of Standardized Language and Literacy Assessments: Considerations for Clinicians and Researchers

Abstract

AbstractObjectivesPrevious virtual care literature within the field of speech-language pathology has focused primarily on validating the virtual use of intervention programs. There are fewer articles addressing the validity of conducting standardized paediatric oral language and literacy assessments virtually. Additionally, there is a lack of practical recommendations available on how best to conduct these assessment measures virtually. Given the rapid rise in virtual care as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, clinicians and researchers require guidance on best practices for virtual administration of these tools imminently.MethodsWe identified six key themes for recommendations based on two sources (1) our lab meeting discussions and (2) the outcomes of a narrative review of the extant literature. We then conducted semi-structured interviews with a group of 12 clinicians, students and researchers who had administered standardized language and literacy assessments with a variety of monolingual and multilingual school-aged children, with and without speech and language difficulties, in clinical and research settings to generate recommendations within these themes. Subsequently, in line with the Guidelines International Network, these recommendations were rated by group members, and reviewed by external stakeholders. A quasi-delphi consensus procedure was used to reach agreement on ratings for recommendations.ResultsWe have developed recommendations for the use of standardized language and literacy assessments in virtual care, across six key themes: candidacy for virtual assessment, communication and collaboration with caregivers, technology and equipment, virtual administration, ethics, consent and confidentiality, and considerations for bilingual populations.ConclusionsThis paper is one of the first to share practical recommendations for virtual assessment in the domain of paediatric oral language and literacy assessment. We hope these recommendations will facilitate future clinical research and that as the body of research grows, that this paper will act as a basis for the development of formal Clinical Practice Guidelines.