The Ortiz PVAT requires normal visual perception to view the images presented on the computer screen and unimpaired auditory processing to hear the orally presented target words. Therefore, administering the Ortiz PVAT to individuals with either a visual impairment that cannot be corrected with glasses or corrective lenses, or a hearing impairment that affects the ability to hear or process speech sounds, is unlikely to yield valid results. For these reasons, individuals meeting either or both of these conditions were specifically excluded from the Ortiz PVAT normative samples. As such, individuals with uncorrectable vision and auditory impairments should not be administered the Ortiz PVAT.
When working with very young children, individuals with speech-language delays, or English learners with very little proficiency in English, examiners should take great care to ensure the examinee understands the nature of the task. As mentioned previously, task instructions (originally developed in English) have been translated to five of the most common languages spoken in the U.S. which include Arabic, Chinese, Russian, Spanish, and Vietnamese (U.S. Census Bureau, 2014). Bilingual examiners are encouraged to administer the Ortiz PVAT using these translated task instructions for speakers of these languages with very low exposure to English who may better comprehend the instructions when explained in their native language. Administration of the test items, however, requires no translation or other modification, as the target words are only presented in English. The examiner should also carefully observe any difficulties that an examinee might have with comprehending the task. These difficulties should be readily evident during administration of the practice items. If the examinee simply cannot understand the task instructions, they are likely to perform poorly on the test, regardless of their vocabulary development. In such cases, when the examiner is not confident that the examinee fully understands the task, the Ortiz PVAT should not be administered.
The Ortiz PVAT is not intended to be the sole source of information in situations that involve clinical diagnosis, high-stakes decision making about an individual’s educational and/or therapeutic needs, or treatment planning. Evaluators are cautioned against drawing overly broad interpretations or using the results in isolation and without corroborating data. Use of the Ortiz PVAT scores for automatic diagnoses or actuarial decision making is inappropriate and is strongly discouraged. Further, the Ortiz PVAT cannot serve as a substitute for direct clinical observation. In order to obtain a comprehensive view of an individual, the evaluator must combine Ortiz PVAT results with information from other sources, assessments, and measures, including medical information, developmental history, and information obtained through interviews, as well as discussions with the examinee and other informants.
MHS (the publisher) and the author are not responsible for the use of the Ortiz PVAT in any manner other than that which is outlined or noted in this manual. If the examiner intends to use the Ortiz PVAT in any way other than that outlined in this manual, the examiner must justify and defend such use and be mindful that the guidelines set for score interpretations may not apply if the test is used for individuals above or below the intended age range (i.e., 2 years 6 months to 22 years 11 months) or not specifically represented within the provided normative samples.