The Communication and Symbolic Behavior Scales (CSBS™) is a norm-referenced, standardized instrument used to assess infants, toddlers, and preschoolers at risk for communication delays and impairments.
The CSBS™—used during natural play routines and other adult-child interactions—is different from other language assessment instruments. Its 22 5-point rating scales survey children’s language skills as well as their symbolic development, which is demonstrated in the children’s gestures, facial expressions, and play behaviors. Most important, CSBS™ is backed by technical data, it’s curriculum compatible, and it comes packaged with everything professionals need to conduct and score an assessment.
One of the best measures of early communication, the norm-referenced*, standardized CSBS™ uses parent interviews and naturalistic sampling procedures to collect crucial information—not just on language skills, but on often-overlooked communicative behaviors like communicative functions, gestures, rate of communicating, positive affect, and gaze shifts. CSBS™ takes just 50–75 minutes for child assessment and 60–75 minutes for indepth scoring. Backed by technical data, CSBS™ is compatible with most developmental curricula and comes with everything professionals need to conduct and score assessments for children 8–24 months (or up to 72 months if developmental delays are present):
The Complete CSBS™ Kit includes:
- Caregiver Questionnaire: Caregivers complete this 15-minute qualitative questionnaire to provide background information. Their responses provide a baseline that helps professionals evaluate a child's performance.
- Behavior Sample: After the questionnaire is complete, professionals trained to assess developmentally young children conduct the videotaped Behavior Sample as the caregiver interacts with the child using a naturalistic sampling procedure. The sampling procedure uses communicative temptations, book sharing, symbolic play, language comprehension probes, and constructive play. Later, professionals use the Behavior Sample Record Form to convert results to scores on 22 five-point scales, organized in seven clusters: Communicative Function, Communicative Means—Gestural, Communicative Means—Vocal, Communicative Means—Verbal, Reciprocity, Social-Affective Signaling, and Symbolic Behavior. This yields raw scores and scaled scores for the 22 scales, percentile ranks and standard scores for the seven clusters, a percentile rank and standard overall composite score, and norms by chronological age or language stage.
- CSBS™ Manual: The manual includes technical data about CSBS™, plus instructions on how to administer the questionnaire and sampling procedures, plan interventions, analyze the videotaped behavior samples, and score and interpret the assessment.
- CSBS™ Toy Kit: These familiar, action-based play materials entice spontaneous behavior during the Behavior Sample. It includes a convenient carrying bag.
- Outline Cards: These two reference cards outline sampling procedures step by step and give directions for scoring.
- Instructional Videos: These two videos demonstrate how to collect a behavior sample and convert the information into scores using the five-point scales.
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