ESB Extra Resources

A standardized and direct assessment that uses structured, play-based prompts to elicit social communication skills. The test comes in a suitcase, with all manipulatives organized into color-coded bags. 

The ESB measures foundational social communication skills: Social Responsiveness, Joint Attention, and Symbolic Comprehension.

The ESB requires a Level B Qualification: Minimum of a bachelor’s degree in psychology or related field, with experience in assessment or a license or certification from an agency/organization that requires assessment training.

The ESB comes with a free, 90-minute eLearning program that provides in-depth information about administration and interpretation, as well as opportunities to practice scoring real administrations through videos. Previously recorded webinars are also available upon request. 

The ESB provides two types of scores: cut-off scores for immediate feedback and normative scores to support decision-making. Norm tables are in the appendix of the ESB Manual. 

Both test-retest and inter-rater reliabilities for the ESB are in the high to excellent range. ESB performance was found to be equally predictive across age groups and overall identified 89% of children with parent-reported “late” diagnoses of Social Communication Disorder and/or ASD (sensitivity).

 In addition to the standardization sample, there were clinical groups for children who were receiving speech language services and a group of children with autism spectrum disorder. 

No, results were analyzed and showed no significant differences between scores for males or females. 

Yes, during standardization, the ESB was administered to multilingual children and results showed no significant difference between multilingual and English only speaking children. It is additionally important to note that there is no speaking required by the child during the ESB.  

If one of your items is misplaced after administration, or if it is damaged during administration, Hogrefe is happy to replace items. Simply email customersupport@hogrefe.com to let us know. 

No—the ESB is hand scored in only a few minutes. 

When a child is being assessed, a familiar adult like a parent or caregiver can be present to help the child feel at ease. While parents naturally want their child to succeed, it's crucial they don't prompt or coach the child, as this can skew the assessment. Before the session begins, the examiner should explain to the adult that it's not a test and their role is to observe, not to intervene, unless specifically asked. This allows them to see how their child genuinely responds to tasks.

Most children find the chute highly motivating, and it serves a purpose to help keep them engaged and maintain their focus. Nevertheless, it is not crucial and if the presence of the chute is impacting the child’s ability to focus on the task, it can be removed.

When administering the ESB, professional judgement should be used to follow best practices for conducting standardized assessments. The ESB can be administered in various settings including clinics, schools, and during in-home visits.

No. To maintain anticipation and the momentum of the assessment, it is best not to let the child hold any of the objects. 

Yes. It is important to give the child adequate opportunity to succeed with the tasks. You can do this by reducing distractions in the environment, saying the child’s name at the beginning of an utterance, and/or use appropriate prompts and encouragement. You can also offer breaks in between tasks if necessary. 

We know that children with differing sociocognitive skills can present as non-engaged or self-directed at times. It is important as the examiner to attempt to engage the child using your ample skills in interacting with young children. The tasks were designed in ways that lend themselves to be intriguing. You may also use your tone of voice and facial expressions to help engage the child. If helpful, you can ask a par-ents/caregiver, or teacher to sit close by. Lastly, non-engagement is informative, as most children are inter-ested in participating in the ESB.