Early Sociocognitive Battery

Area of use

The Early Sociocognitive Battery (ESB) is a new, innovative assessment for preschool children that is predictive of later language and social communication difficulties that are often experienced by children who have been diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (ASD).

Qualification Level B

Language Versions

U.S. English; U.K. English; Danish, Dutch, Finnish, French, Italian, and Spanish editions are in progress.

Product Description

The ESB can be used by speech/language pathologists, speech therapists, and clinical and school psychologists. It is also available for use by early childhood professionals who have:

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

Primarily a nonverbal assessment tool suitable for use with children 18 months up to 5 years old 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 childhood 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. Each ESB kit comes with a password-protected link to an online, eLearning program that provides an in-depth overview of administration and interpretation of the assessment.

This short 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 behind 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.

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., is 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.S. norms (N = 513) 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

2024