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The Cognitive Linguistic Quick Test, also known as the CLQT, is a valuable tool for speech-language pathologists (SLPs), occupational therapists, psychologists, and other healthcare professionals who need to assess neurological impairment.
In 2017, the Cognitive Linguistic Quick Test was updated to include a separate administration option for people with aphasia. This expanded edition, the CLQT+, can be used to evaluate cognitive skills in English- or Spanish-speaking adults. It takes about 15 to 30 minutes to complete the assessment, making it an efficient way for clinicians to gather essential data.
What makes the CLQT+ different from other speech language assessment tools? And how can you make the most of this test to support clients with potential neurological impairment? Read on to learn more about the Cognitive Linguistic Quick Test and how you can integrate it into your practice.
What is the CLQT+?
The Cognitive Linguistic Quick Test-Plus includes two administration pathways, differentiating it from the original format that included only one pathway. On the CLQT+ test form, you’ll notice these two options: Traditional Administration and Aphasia Administration.
Traditional Administration, like the original test, assesses the CLQT five cognitive domains:
Attention
Memory
Executive functions
Language
Visuospatial skills
On both the Traditional Administration and Aphasia Administration sections of the CLQT+ test form, there is also a clock drawing index.
The Aphasia Administration includes two additional indexes:
Non-linguistic cognition
Linguistic/aphasia
Cognitive linguistic assessment for aphasia
While the Cognitive Linguistic Quick Test has long been an established tool for briefly measuring adults' cognitive strengths and needs, the updated CLQT+ test form places a special emphasis on aphasia.
SLPs and other clinicians using the test can choose the aphasia administration path to gather data about a client’s cognitive skills apart from their language skills.
Both the Traditional Administration and Aphasia Administration on the CLQT+ test form contain the following tasks:
Personal Facts
Symbol Cancellation
Confrontation Naming
Clock Drawing
Story Retelling
Symbol Trails
Generative Naming
Design Memory
Mazes
Design Generation
However, additional points are given for following auditory directions on the Symbol Cancellation, Symbol Trails, and Mazes tasks on the Aphasia Administration. These tasks contribute to the Non-Linguistic Cognition Index score, which is designed to measure cognitive functioning irrespective of language impairment.
Also new to the CLQT+ is a Semantic Comprehension task within the Aphasia Administration. This task contributes toward the Linguistic/Aphasia Index score, which measures both expressive and receptive language functioning.
How to score the CLQT+
Each task is scored on the record form, and results are summarized as severity ratings for each cognitive domain. On both pathways, CLQT scoring and severity ratings range from within normal limits to mild, moderate, and severe, and a Composite Severity Rating summarizes overall performance. On the Aphasia Administration, additional points are given for following auditory directions on some tasks, which feed into the Non-Linguistic Cognition Index.
The CLQT+ manual offers suggestions for additional assessment or treatment based on ratings and scores. The results may also help clinicians identify goal areas for therapy and inform a diagnostic impression.
Why use the Cognitive Linguistic Quick Test?
The CLQT+ is a criterion-referenced assessment that offers a quick, simple avenue to assess a range of cognitive abilities in English- and Spanish-speaking adults. The updated version of the test is especially relevant to patients with aphasia, but clinicians should be aware there are many other populations who may benefit from its administration.
Speech-language pathologists may use the CLQT+ with clients who have experienced traumatic brain injury or dementia. The test can measure recovery or progress as individuals receive therapy. It can also track data on decline, for example in patients with Alzheimer’s disease.
Beyond supporting therapy goals and patient progress, the CLQT+ may also help streamline documentation. If payers require objective assessment data to support reimbursement, a brief, structured tool like the Cognitive Linguistic Quick Test can offer an efficient way to document clients' cognitive skills. Documentation requirements vary, so check with your payers. Since it takes about 15 to 30 minutes to complete, the test may be easier to fit into a busy practitioner's schedule.
CLQT vs. MoCA for SLPs
Speech-language pathologists and other clinicians may be wondering how the CLQT+ differs from the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA). In theory, the two assessments have a lot in common.
Both tests measure memory, attention, executive functioning, and language. Both offer a global perspective on an individual’s cognitive skills and are fast and relatively easy to administer.
However, it’s important to keep in mind that the MoCA is a screening tool. That means it can only be used to determine if further assessment is warranted—not to make a diagnosis. It's a one-page, 30-point test that takes about 10 minutes to complete and measures skills such as memory, attention, executive function, language, visuospatial ability, and orientation.
The Cognitive Linguistic Quick Test, by contrast, can be used as a standalone overview assessment or as part of a larger assessment battery. SLPs may use CLQT+ results alongside other evaluation data to help inform a diagnosis and treatment plan. The CLQT+ test form showcases its unique structure and severity rating scores, which differentiate it from the MoCA. The addition of a specific Aphasia Administration further defines the CLQT+ and distinguishes it from the MoCA.
Conclusion
If you’re a speech-language pathologist or other health care provider who works with patients experiencing cognitive impairment, the CLQT+ may already be a go-to tool in your toolkit.
If it’s not, now may be the time to consider introducing it to your repertoire. With flexible administration options in both English and Spanish, differentiated assessment for people with and without aphasia, and a 15- to 30-minute administration time, this test can be both informative and efficient.
Assessing individuals who have experienced a stroke, traumatic brain injury, or other neurological condition is both complex and challenging. Forming a clear picture of a client's diagnosis and prognosis may call for an interdisciplinary team and a variety of assessment tools. Using the updated Cognitive Linguistic Quick Test, you can better understand your client’s areas of need and strength to develop a comprehensive treatment plan.
Sources
Nasreddine, Z. S., Phillips, N. A., Bédirian, V., Charbonneau, S., Whitehead, V., et al. (2005). The Montreal Cognitive Assessment, MoCA: A brief screening tool for mild cognitive impairment. Journal of the American Geriatrics Society.
Pearson Assessments. (2022). CLQT Plus brochure.
Pearson Assessments. (n.d.). Cognitive Linguistic Quick Test-Plus.
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