Alpha Test (Assessment Link Between Phonology and Articulation)
Publisher: Linguisystems
Published: August 1986
Format: Paperback
ISBN-13: 9781559990127
Subjects: Language
Description: Dr Lowe has kindly made the ALPHA Test of Phonology freely available to SLP/SLT clinicians, student clinicians and researchers. Published by LinguiSystems in its first edition in 1986 the ALPHA/ALPHA-R is a normed test that continues to receive enthusiastic and positive feedback from its many users.

http://speech-language-therapy.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=46:speechax&catid=9:resources&Itemid=117

Dr Lowe writes, "the ALPHA was originally developed so that it could be used to do both a traditional articulation assessment and, if needed, a phonological process assessment. It was the first phonology test to be published that was based on a normative sample. I believe that it is still a useful assessment instrument and have adjusted the forms so that it can be easily downloaded in pdf format. Below are some of the changes from the original forms.

Cover Page The original ALPHA test form was all on one large 16 x 22 inch sheet that neatly folded into compact size. That was not convenient for downloading, so now there are three (or four) 8 x 11 inch sheets instead. The cover sheet has the traditional identifying information, summary score information, phoneme and process analysis sections. I have added a Consonants Correct score which is just a total of consonants that were targeted and made correctly. From one administration to the next this score should become smaller if the client is making progress. This number could reflect just the sounds listed for the Target words or could also include the sounds listed for the Secondary words which will be described later.

Relational Analysis Form This form has seven columns. The first column contains the sentence stimuli with the Target Words italicized and bolded. The second column lists the Target Words. The third and fourth columns are for entering the initial and final sound transcriptions. The last three columns are new. In that the ALPHA uses sentence stimuli, I decided that some of the other words in the sentences could also provide the clinician with useful information. These ‘Secondary’ words are listed and the final two columns are for transcription of the indicated sounds in those words. The information from the Secondary words CANNOT be used when applying the ALPHA norms, but do provide additional information about sound production.

Phonological Process Forms There are two forms for identifying the phonological processes. These were designed to line up with the Target and Secondary word rows on the Relational Analysis Form. One is set up for the Target words and one for the Secondary words. Shaded areas indicate that the process is not likely to occur for the sounds in the associated word. Each column is wide enough so that potential processes for initial sounds can be checked on the left and for final sounds checked on the right. The advantage is that a quick visual inspection will show the clinician positional influences on the use of phonological processes. As with the original ALPHA, you would total all of the checks in the column and write it in at the bottom of the page. Only the processes identified for the Target words can be used with the ALPHA norms.

Manual and Tables The original manual and tables have also been put into pdf format for easy downloading along with the picture stimuli and an identification matrix. The matrix makes process identification a much easier task and is recommended for those who are new to the ALPHA or to phonological processes in general. The matrix is based on the process definitions used by the ALPHA and would not be appropriate for other tests of phonology.

Sentence Stimuli The stimulus sentences used for the ALPHA have been placed on two label templates (Avery 5160). If the user desires he or she can download the pictures and labels to create a test booklet so that while the client is looking at the picture stimulus, the clinician will be looking at the associated stimulus sentence."