The Denver Articulation Screening Exam

This report describes the development of an articulation-screening test for economically disadvantaged children. The test is unique in that it was designed for use by trained nonprofessional workers. Thirty-four sound elements were administered to over 1500 Anglos, blacks, and Mexican-Americans two and one-half to six years of age. They varied significantly on the production of four sounds, which were eliminated from further study. In their production of the remaining 30 sounds, no significant differences were noted among cultural groups or between males and females. Age normative data in pronunciation of the 30 sounds were combined for all three cultural groups and displayed in a percentile rank format for each age category. Validation studies using nonprofessional screeners established the fifteenth percentile as the cutoff point for referral of abnormal children. Test-retest reliability was 0.95. Application of the test to large populations of children and use of nonprofessional screeners are discussed.