Early Sociocognitive Battery

Area of use

The U.S. adaptation of the ESB is in the final stages of development and will be published this fall. To pre-order a kit or learn more about the assessment, please email us at customersupport@hogrefe.com or call us at 978.255.3700.

The Early Sociocognitive Battery (ESB) is a new, innovative assessment for preschool children that is predictive of later language and social communication difficulties including autism spectrum disorder (ASD).

Language Versions

English

Product Description

The ESB can be used by speech and language therapists, clinical and educational psychologists, and paediatricians. It is also available for use by early years’ professionals who have:

• Certified training and experience in a relevant discipline.
• Membership of a professional organisation appropriate to the focus of the test.
• Evidence of competence in the use of psychological tests.

Primarily a non-verbal clinical assessment tool suitable for use with children aged 2–5 years and from diverse language backgrounds, the ESB is a battery of three subtests measuring social responsiveness, joint attention and symbolic comprehension. Identification of deficiencies in these key sociocognitive skills help early years professionals target their intervention strategies appropriately.

The ESB is a portable assessment in an easy-to-carry case containing more than 60 toys and objects designed to engage young children.

The video shows how speech and language therapists work with children on some of the tasks included in these three subtests. And this white paper details the theory, evidence, and practice of the ESB.

When you order test materials for the first time we request that you provide documentation indicating you have the requisite qualifications or experience to administer psychological tests. Please download and complete the Qualification for Test Purchase.

Reliability

Both test-retest and inter-rater reliabilities for the ESB are in the high to excellent range for the U.K. sample, and preliminary calculations show the same range for the U.S. sample.

Test Validity

Evidence of construct, concurrent and most importantly predictive validity from initial work in the U.K., and work this past year in the U.S., will be explained in the new U.S. manual. 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) and 75% of those without (specificity) in the U.K.

Norms

U.K. norms (N = 384) U.S. norms (anticipated N > 500) are representative of the population with respect to gender, age, ethnicity, region, and parental education.

Processing Time

The ESB is untimed and typically takes 15 minutes to complete.

Copyright year

2023