Description
The Bus Story is a standardized test for the assessment of narrative skills in the clinical and rehabilitation field. The test is applied to children from 3 to 8 years of age and is designed as a screening test, which can be used for the assessment of language production ability, in semantic, grammatical and phonological context.
Narrative ability is not only an indicator of a high degree of linguistic and cognitive competence, but it is also an essential element for a correct development of learning and social skills. Narrative is a developmental skill that grows and evolves from the age of 20 months. Precisely for this reason, some authors consider that the analysis of narrative skills represents one of the most interesting and at the same time valid ways to measure communication skills. Oral comprehension of stories requires not only decoding the literal meaning of what is being heard, but also understanding and sometimes inferring what is not directly indicated in the narrative.
Many authors suggest that the acquisition of good narrative skills in preschool is essential for the proper development of reading and writing skills.
From a clinical point of view, the test can be repeated at least three months after the first application, and its results can be analyzed as predictors of language development.
The test includes the test sheets with the images, an application manual and an answer template. The test is available in the original version (English) and is easily adaptable to other languages.