Overview
The Test of Pragmatic Language, Second Edition (TOPL-2; Phelps-Terasaki & Phelps-Gunn, 2007) is norm-referenced instrument that evaluates social communication in context for individuals aged 6 through 18 years, 11 months. The test provides information about how well students listen, choose appropriate content, express feelings, make requests, and handle other aspects of pragmatic language. It takes into consideration the following components of pragmatics: audience, topic, purpose, visual- gestural cues, and abstractions. This individually administered instrument is used to identify pragmatic language deficits, determine individual strengths and weaknesses, and document progress. Separate forms are used for students ages 6-7 years and ages 8-18 years.
Summary
Age: 6 years 11 months to 18 years 11 months
Time to Administer: 45-60 minutes
Method of Administration: Individually administered, norm-referenced measure of social communication in context
Yields standard scores, percentile ranks, age-equivalents
Subscales: Overall Composite Score: Pragmatic Language Usage Index
Subtests: Physical Setting, Audience, Topic, Purpose (Speech Acts), Visual-Gestural Cues, Abstraction
Also provides a qualitative analysis of student response
Autism Related Research
None found. However, some autism-related research has been conducted using its predecessor (TOPL). Specifically, Young and colleagues (2005) found the TOPL distinguished participants with ASD from those with typical development. Later, in a study comparing the TOPL with the Children’s Communication Checklist- Second Edition (CCC-2; Bishop, 2006), Volden and Phillips (2010) found that both tests measured skills beyond structural language competence and documented that the pragmatic weakness of speakers with ASD relative to typically developing children was evident on both tests. However, these authors also found that the TOPL identified only 56% of the participants in the high-functioning ASD group as pragmatically impaired, while the CCC-2 identified 81%. Nevertheless, the TOPL was found to identify no typically developing controls with pragmatic language impairments.