Telepractice and the GFTA-3
Professionals should address five themes (Eichstadt et al. 2013) when planning for administering GFTA™-3 assessments via telepractice. For more information on the five themes, please visit our general telepractice web page.
Special recommendations for administering GFTA-3 via telepractice
Selected research to date
Studies supporting the equivalency of test scores when picture stimuli are displayed to the examinee in a printed manual versus a digital display on a computer screen (in-person administration):
Daniel, M. H. (2012a). Equivalence of Q-interactive administered cognitive tasks: WAIS–IV. Q- interactive Technical Report 1. Bloomington, MN: Pearson.
Daniel, M. H. (2012b). Equivalence of Q-interactive administered cognitive tasks: WISC–IV. Q- interactive Technical Report 2. Bloomington, MN: Pearson.
Studies addressing the use of GFTA-3 via telepractice:
Eichstadt, T. J., Castilleja, N., Jakubowitz, M., & Wallace, A. (2013, November). Standardized assessment via telepractice: qualitative review and survey data. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the American-Speech-Language-Hearing Association, Chicago, IL.
Crutchley, S., Dudley, W., & Campbell, M. (2010). Articulation assessment through videoconferencing: A pilot study. Communications of Global Information Technology, 2, 12 23.
Waite, M., Cahill, L., Theodoros, D., Busuttin, S., & Russell, T. (2006). A pilot study of online assessment of childhood speech disorders. Journal of Telemedicine and Telecare, 12(Suppl. 3), 92–94.
Note: Further research may be added over time.
Conclusion
There is not enough evidence at this time to fully support the reliable and valid administration of the GFTA-3 test via telepractice including the use of the normative data. Descriptive reporting may be warranted if the administration is attempted and documentation of the exact procedures must be fully described in the report. Further studies are underway to investigate item-level differences given the remote audio and visual environment. Therefore, you may use the GFTA-3 via telepractice with descriptive information documented about telepractice administration without additional permission from Pearson in the following published contexts:
- GFTA-3 Digital Stimulus book via flash drive
Any other use of the GFTA-3 via telepractice requires prior permission from Pearson. This includes, but is not limited to, scanning the paper stimulus books, digitizing the paper record forms, holding the materials physically up in the camera's viewing area, or uploading a manual on to a shared drive or site.
A customer reflects on using Q-global digital stimulus books and manuals:
Q-Global has been a great solution for us. Managing testing materials between a variety of sites and districts could be very tricky. The online testing materials have completely resolved any access challenges we faced. Observing and recording the client's response through telepractice continues to require a good deal of coordination- particularly for pointing activities. However, the clinician being able to directly manage test stimuli and present them to the client through screen share technology makes that process much less cumbersome.
Thank you for being so proactive with making your tools accessible to telepractitioners!
Nate Cornish, MS, CCC-SLP
Clinical Director
VocoVision