So, what you actually will see is the whole test.

These are the objects you need. These are things that are in your closet. You need a box, wrapping paper, three short colored ribbons — and you’ll see why. They don’t have to be red, blue, and green. They can be black, orange, and purple if you want. Three long colored ribbons (not long enough to go around the box). Two tape dispensers — one of which is empty. A Mushki. Then we need a puppet or a doll, and this is optional, and you’ll see why we need it.

Looking at the score sheet, you will see it says that this is an optional activity that can be used to establish rapport with the child, as well as to observe how the child uses/understands pragmatic language. This activity is to be used for descriptive purposes only and does NOT contribute to any score.

What you have then is the stimulus on the left-hand-side, the expected on the right, and then whether the kid uses it or not.

So, the examiner says, “Let’s wrap Diego’s present. I bought Diego a great gift. It’s in the box. What do you think it is?”

There’s another alternative that we created. We realized — not our Puerto Rican kids or our Dominican kids, but our Mexican-American kids sometimes were not confrontational to an adult. As you can see, sometimes you have to be confrontational. So we created this puppet. So the puppet is the one these kids can say things to, not the person. So, using this option we would say, “Let’s wrap Diego’s present. This is my friend Timmy. He is going to help us wrap Diego’s present. Sometimes he can be silly, but don’t let him fool you. I bought Diego a great gift. It’s in the box…”

What you’re getting then is this responsive act, “A toy.” Or no response.

So you say, “It’s a Mushki!”

You’re expecting a request for clarification or a request for information. Again, we’re giving the kid options. You really don’t know what the kid is going to do, whether it’s a request for clarification or a request for information. “A what?” / “What is a Mushki?” / Or he gives you the puzzled look.

You say, “A Mushki, see.” Then you open the box. “We use Mushkis to bingle the waddles.”

So, the kid is going to say, “What?” Or he is going to say, “You’re crazy.”

You say, “Let’s see, to wrap the present, we need wrapping paper, tape and ribbon. Do you remember how to wrap a present? Hmm. Tell me.”

And the kid might say, “Bueno, lo primero que se hace es comprar todos los materiales necesarios para completar la tarea.” For those of you who speak Spanish — wow.

Or kid 2 says, “Box y ribbon pa el party.”

Folks, realize one of the things that’s very critical — I’m going to mention it later on. You are picking up a tremendous amount of information with respect to the kid’s language skills in this process.

So, we place the paper and the box on the table. And you say, “Let me have the ribbon.” And the ribbon is not on the table. So the kid has to say, “We only have paper and a box.” Or “There is no ribbon.” Or the kid will say something like, “Where is the ribbon?” Again, it’s assertive acts.

“Oh, I forgot, it’s in the bag.” And you pull out the red, blue, and green ribbon. Now, there were short ribbons and long ribbons. Because the kids might not know colors. And we want to make sure we don’t get into this labeling problem, so we have these three ribbons that he can choose. So you say, “I have a red ribbon, a blue ribbon, and a green ribbon. Which one do you want?” And he points to that one.

And I say, “Here it is.” And the kid says, “That one is green.” Or “That is not the one I want.” Or “Where is the red one?” Again, assertive acts.

“Oh, I’m sorry.” Then you give him the correct ribbon.

You bring up the empty tape dispenser. Which all of you have empty tape dispensers, as you work in the schools, and you begin wrapping the present.

And you say to the kid, “Please give me some tape.” Well, the tape dispenser has no tape on it. So you’re forcing the kid now to say something. “There is no tape.” or “Where is the tape?” or something to that effect.

“Oh, I better get another one.” Then you get the dispenser with tape. “Ok, now we have to put the ribbon.” But you keep the ribbon. And the kid says, “Let me have it.” A request for action. Or, “I don’t have the ribbon.” Or, “Where’s mine?” Again, we’re not really caring about the form, we’re caring about the use. And particularly, assertive acts.

So, you give the ribbon, but the ribbon is too short. You have to measure ahead of time, by the way. You might get these statements from these kids: “The ribbon is too short.” Or, “Do you have a longer ribbon?”

You say, “So what do you think we should do?” This is a request for information. So, the kid’s got to answer. The kids come up with great answers to this. “Not put any ribbons.” “Tape the ribbon.” “Tie two ribbons to make a long one.”

“Great idea. I think Diego is going to love this present. What do you think Diego is going to say?”

“Thank you for the present.” / “I think he is going to hate it.”

So, that is the pragmatics subtest. Again, it provides the context, the expected responses, and then you circle it yes and no.

Interpretation