The IMPACT Articulation and Phonology Rating Scale is a norm-referenced articulation and phonology rating scale for children and young adults ages 5 through 21 years old. It is composed of 30-35 test items, and has three separate forms to be completed by clinician, parent(s), and teacher(s). It is an accurate and reliable assessment tool that provides valid results on informal observations of speech characteristics, social interactions, academic life, and home/after school life. Normative data of this test is based on a nationally representative sample of 1403 children and young adults in the United States.

The IMPACT Model

The IMPACT model was developed based on current literature and examination of real-world challenges faced by individuals with speech and language impairments such as school demands and social interactions. This model was designed to analyze the real-life authentic observations of teachers, parents, and clinicians. The IMPACT model uses a contextualized, whole language approach to see the impact and the outcome of a speech and/or language impairment on education and social interactions.

Rating Areas

The test is composed of four areas: speech characteristics, social interactions, academic and home/after school life.

Testing Format

The IMPACT Articulation and Phonology Rating Scale is composed of 30-35 test items. The test uses a series of items that asks the rater to score on a 4-point scale (“never,” “sometimes,” “often,” and “typically”). The rating scale yields an overall percentile and standard score. While completing this checklist, examinees are able to watch videos that will guide them by providing specific examples of what each question is asking. The videos are there to help examiners along if they have any questions regarding the skill that they are assessing.

Rating Scale Uses and Purpose

Clinicians, parents, and teachers can provide valuable information regarding a student’s speech sounds abilities and how speech sound errors may impact the child in both the classroom and in the home environment. The IMPACT Articulation and Phonology Rating Scale should be used to evaluate children or young adults who have a suspected or previous diagnosis of a speech sound disorder. This tool will assist in the identification or continued diagnosis of an articulation or phonological disorder. Additionally, this rating scale will help determine if there are any educational or personal impacts. The results of the IMPACT Articulation and Phonology Rating Scale provide clinicians information on articulatory and phonological skills of children and young adults. By utilizing the IMPACT Articulation and Phonology Rating Scale, we are able to develop a better understanding as to how a student’s articulation and phonology skills may impact their academic performance and progress in school.

Code of Federal Regulations – Title 34: Education

34 C.F.R. §300.7 Child with a disability.  (c) Definitions of disability terms. (11) Speech or language impairment means a communication disorder, such as stuttering, impaired articulation, a language impairment, or a voice impairment, that adversely affects a child’s educational performance.

The Individual’s with Disabilities Act (IDEA, 2004) states that when assessing a student for a speech or language impairment, we need to determine whether or not the impairment will negatively impact the child’s educational performance. In order to determine whether an articulation or phonology impairment exists, we can collect a speech sample of the individual, and analyze intelligibility and the impact of the impairment on academic success. 

Importance of Observations and Rationale for a Rating Scale

A speech and language evaluation should include systematic observations and a contextualized analysis that involves multiple observations across various environments and situations (Westby et al., 2003). According to IDEA (2004), such types of informal assessment must be used in conjunction with standardized assessments. Section. 300.532(b), 300.533 (a) (1) (I, ii, iii); 300.535(a)(1) of IDEA states that, “assessors must use a variety of different tools and strategies to gather relevant functional and developmental information about a child, including information provided by the parent, teacher, and information obtained from classroom-based assessments and observation.” By using both formal and informal assessments, clinicians are able to capture a larger picture of a student’s speech abilities. By observing a child’s speech sounds via informal observation, examinees (i.e., clinician, teacher, and parent) can observe the types of sound errors a student makes, as well as the potential impact the speech sound disorder may have on a child’s academic and social life. When we consider a formal articulation assessment, it may be difficult for clinicians to observe and gauge the impact of these errors on a student’s everyday life. Parent and teacher input can be beneficial during a speech assessment because it allows for the observations to take place in an authentic setting. Additionally, the examiners are already familiar with the child and may know what to look for which, creates a true representation of the child’s speech skills. The IMPACT Articulation and Phonology Rating Scale provides us with clinician, parent, and teacher observations and perspectives of a child’s speech sound ability. When given the guidelines of what to look for, parents will be able to provide numerous examples of their child’s speech sound ability or errors and the impact of these errors. These speech sound errors and the impact of these errors may not be so easily observed during clinical assessment and observation. Furthermore, it can be important to obtain information on how a child engages with their family, friends, and peers during familiar tasks in order to gain ecologically and culturally valid information on how a child functions and communicates on a day-to-day basis (Jackson, Pretti- Frontczak, Harjusola-Webb, Grisham-Brown, & Romani, 2009; Westby, Stevens, Dominguez, & Oetter, 1996).

During assessment and intervention planning, it is important to consider how articulation and phonology may adversely affect educational performance and a child’s social interactions. Speech sound disorders encompass speech related delays, disorders, and impairment (McLeod & Baker, 2017). Previous research has suggested that speech sound disorders can negatively impact a child’s academic skills as well as their social and personal life. For example, students with speech sound disorders may have difficulty with phonological awareness, reading, and spelling (Peterson, Pennington, Shriberg, & Boada, 2009; Bird, Bishop, Freeman, 1995; Nathan, Stackhouse, Goulandris, & Snowling, 2004; Anthony, Aghara, Dunkelberger, Anthony, Williams & Zhang, 2011). Additionally, these students may interact with their peers less due to fears of being made fun of or being bullied.

Contextual Background for Rating Scale Areas

A speech sound disorder is a widely used term that encompasses the difficulty, or combination of difficulties, with perception, production, and/or phonological representation of speech sounds and speech segments (American-Speech-Hearing Association [ASHA], 2016). When the cause of speech sound disorders is unknown, they are referred to as either articulation or phonological disorders. Articulation errors may result in sound distortions, substitutions, and omissions of individual speech sounds (ASHA, 2016). Phonological errors are often described as predictable and result from difficulties in the comprehension and use of a speech sound system and it’s governing rules (Bauman-Waengler, 2004). For example, a child with a phonological disorder may engage in gliding or stopping of speech sounds.

A recent study found that in the United States of America, three-quarters of 6,624 pre-kindergarten students that were enrolled in education-based programs across 25 states received speech-language pathology services for “articulation/intelligibility” (Mullen & Schooling, 2010). When compared to typically developing children, these students with speech sound disorders are at higher risk for reduced educational and social outcomes (Felsenfeld, Broen & McGue, 1992; 1994; McCormack, McLeod, McAllister, & Harrison, 2009). These children may have increased difficulties with phonological awareness, spelling, and reading (Peterson, Pennington, Shriberg, & Boada, 2009; Bird, Bishop, Freeman, 1995; Nathan, Stackhouse, Goulandris, & Snowling, 2004; Anthony, Aghara, Dunkelberger, Anthony, Williams & Zhang, 2011; Leitão & Fletcher, 2004; McLeod & Baker, 2017). As a result, these students are more likely to require additional support at school (Felsenfeld et al., 1994). Additionally, these children are more likely to experience frustration (McCormack, McLeod, McAllister & Harrison, 2010) and are more likely to be bullied (Sweeting & West, 2001). Students with speech-sound disorders may feel at ease at home with people they are familiar with, and feel more reserved in public spaces with unfamiliar people (McLeod, Daniel & Barr, 2013). Because of these factors, the IMPACT Articulation and Phonology Rating Scale has clinicians, teachers, and parents look at a child’s speech characteristics, as well as the impact of a speech disorder on a child’s social interactions, academic life, and home/after school life.

Part of the current assessment tool asks clinicians to observe how often students make phonological errors. Table 1.1 reviews common phonological processes.