Dynamic assessment

The assessment process should be iterative and dynamic

Reference: Hersh et al., 2013
NHMRC level of Evidence: GPP

Rationale: Therapy, assessment and goal setting should continuously inform each other producing a responsive and tailored intervention sequence. A clinician may start this process by talking to the client, using supported conversation, to find out what is concerning and motivating the client. This will help to inform a collaborative goal setting process. The resulting goals should guide a tailored assessment strategy, which may involve a choice of standardised or non-standardised assessments, functional assessment, discourse analysis, assessment of mood and self-esteem, goal attainment scaling etc. The choice of treatment, following from the goal setting discussion and assessment results, is then made with further discussion and assessment woven into that therapy as part of that dynamic process.

Dynamic assessment

Dynamic assessment (DA) is an interactive approach to assessment whereby the clinician can trial interventions and strategies with the client as part of the assessment process. The approach has come from the field of educational psychology where it was used as an approach to assessing a child's potential for learning (Hasson & Joffe, 2007).  The process involves the learner, the assessor and the task.  

Feuerstein and colleagues (2002) described three essential components that are conveyed to the learner during the process of dynamic assessment.  These include:

1. the mediation of intentionality.

2. the mediation of meaning.

3. the mediation of transcendence.

When adapted for the assessment of a person with aphasia, a dynamic assessment approach could involve a speech pathologist beginning an assessment by explaining the purpose of the assessment, how the assessment is relevant to everyday activities and why it is going to help the rehabilitation process and ultimately, the client. 

 References:

Hersh, D., Worrall, L., O'Halloran, R., Brown, K., Grohn, B., & Rodriguez, A. (2013). Assess for Success: Evidence for Therapeutic Assessment In N. Simmons-Mackie, J. King & D. Beukelman (Eds.), Supporting communication for adults with acute and chronic aphasia. Baltimore, MD: Paul H. Brookes.