| The purpose of this study was to offer clinicians information regarding which assessment tool
(Language Use Inventory or Pragmatics Checklist) is most appropriate to provide to families of
children who are Deaf or Hard of Hearing (DHH) for variables that caregivers and providers
might find important, or necessary to consider and to assess the pragmatic language abilities of
children who are DHH using both the Language Use Inventory (LUI) and the Pragmatics
Checklist. Three mothers of preschoolers who are DHH completed the LUI, and the Pragmatics
Checklist followed by a Parent Perception Survey for each assessment. Both assessments and the
Parent Perception survey were analyzed for trends within and across participants. Results
indicated that all preschoolers showed pragmatic deficits below their age. Providers may want to
utilize the Pragmatics Checklist as a potential screener for pragmatic abilities and utilize the LUI
as a more in-depth assessment used to set goals or as a comparison to a normative group.
Keywords: Pragmatics, Deaf and Hard of Hearing, Assessment Tools, Language Use
Inventory, Pragmatics Checklist |