Clinical Evaluation of Language Fundamentals - Fifth Edition (CELF-5) - Telehealth and CELF-5

Telehealth is online speech therapy, that enables Speech and Language Therapists to you provide assessments via high speed internet, webcam, microphone or any other form of communication whilst in a separate location from their client.

Telehealth can be performed on a number of devices such as smartphones, tablets, laptops, desktops and even video conferencing facilities.

Two methods of administration:

  • Synchronous telehealth, involves real-time conversations between the therapist and the assessee to enable them to interact
  • Asynchronous telehealth, is where the therapist and assessee record and store their part of the conversations and then send them to each other without any real time interaction

Whilst administering the CELF-5 using telehealth professional should address five themes ( Eichstadt et al.2013) into consideration:

  1. Audio/Visual Environment
  2. Examiner Factors
  3. Examinee Factors
  4. Test/Test Materials
  5. Other/Miscellaneous

1. Audio/Visual Environment

  • Make sure the full face of the examiner and the examinee is in view during the administration.
  • A headset with a boom mic for the examiner and the examinee is highly recommended for every CELF-5A&NZ assessment via telehealth.
  • Test the audio either through the examinee's speakers or headset and ensure a high-quality audio presentation, whether live or recorded stimulus prompts.

2. Examiner Factors

  • Practice starting and completing appropriate tests of a CELF-5 assessment before you begin with an examinee.
  • Make a clinical judgment, similar to a face-to-face session, whether or not you are able to gather the child's best performance. Report your clinical decision(s) in your report and comment on the factors that led to this decision and your reporting or lack of reporting of the scores.

3. Examinee Factors

  • There may be select administrations where an examinee headset is not appropriate or feasible. For this instance, make sure you have a web camera with an embedded microphone or a stand-alone microphone with the volume turned up to a comfortable loudness level.

4. Test/Test Materials

  • Make sure you have only one (1) image of the stimulus pictures showing to the examinee at any time.
  • Go to "full screen" with the stimulus pictures to eliminate distractions on the desktop/video window within the telehealth environment for the examinee.
  • The tests that have no visual stimulus should screen share the appropriate page in the digital stimulus book during the administration (a title page or blank page).
  • Four CELF-5UK tests (Linguistic Concepts, Following Directions, Recalling Sentences, and Structured Writing) are in the process of being studied and the nature of administering the task by telehealth is more complicated. Descriptive reporting may be warranted if the administration is attempted and documentation of the exact procedures must be fully described in the report.

5. Other/Miscellaneous

None at this time.

Selected Research to Date

Studies supporting the equivalency of test scores when picture stimuli are displayed to the examinee in a printed manual versus a digital display on a computer screen (in-person administration):

Daniel, M. H., Wahlstrom, D., & Zhou, X. (2014). Equivalence of Q-interactive and paper administrations of language tasks: Selected CELF-5UK tests. Q-interactive Technical Report 7. Bloomington, MN: Pearson.

Daniel, M. H. (2012a). Equivalence of Q-interactive administered cognitive tasks: WAIS–IV. Q-interactive Technical Report 1. Bloomington, MN: Pearson.

Daniel, M. H. (2012b). Equivalence of Q-interactive administered cognitive tasks: WISC–IV. Q-interactive Technical Report 2. Bloomington, MN: Pearson.

Studies addressing the use of CELF via telehealth:

Eichstadt, T. J., Castilleja, N., Jakubowitz, M., & Wallace, A. (2013, November). Standardizedassessment via telehealth: qualitative review and survey data. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the American-Speech-Language-Hearing Association, Chicago, IL.

Waite, M., Theodoros, D., Russell, T., & Cahill, L. (2010). Internet-based telehealth assessment of language using the CELF-4. Language, Speech, and Hearing Services in Schools, 41, 445–458.

Note: Further research may be added over time.

Conclusion

This test was not standardized in a telehealth mode, and this should be taken into consideration when utilizing this test via telehealth and interpreting results. For example, the examiner should consider relying on convergence of multiple data sources and/or being tentative about conclusions. Provided that the examiner has thoroughly considered and addressed the factors and the specific considerations as listed above, the examiner should be prepared to observe and comment about the reliable and valid delivery of the test via telehealth. Materials may be used via telehealth without additional permission from Pearson in the following published contexts:

  1. CELF-5 Digital Stimulus book on Q-global®

Any other use of this test via telehealth is not currently recommended. This includes, but is not limited to, scanning the paper stimulus books, digitising the paper record forms, holding the stimulus books physically up in the camera’s viewing area, or uploading a manual onto a shared drive or site.