The majority of research on the acquisition of spoken language focuses on language production due to difficulties in assessing comprehension. A primary limitation to comprehension assessment is maintaining the interest and attention of younger infants. We have developed an assessment to address the need for an extensive performance-based measure of comprehension in the second year of life. In the interest of developing an engaging approach that takes into account infants’ limited attention capabilities, we designed an assessment based on touchscreen technology. This approach builds upon prior research by combining standardization and complexity with an engaging, infant-friendly interface. Data suggest the touchscreen procedure is effective in eliciting and maintaining infant attention and will yield more extensive and reliable estimates of early comprehension than other procedures. The software to implement the assessment is available free of charge for academic purposes.
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