Chapter 8 Developmental Assessment

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Chapter 8Developmental Assessment

• Presented By
• Kim DeRose
• Katy Valusek
• Heather Mansfield
• Katie Reifel

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What is Developmental Assessment

• Definition a specialized assessment used for
  measuring the performance of young children,
  especially children birth-6 years old
• Utilizes predictable patterns of growth in order
  to assess developmental milestones such as
  walking, talking, etc.
• -good measurement since development
  from birth-6 years is considered to be the same
  across cultural and social differences.
• Specialized tests that are arranged by skill area
  are referred to as developmental scales. These
  skill areas are known as developmental learning
  areas. Most of these areas include fine
  motor, gross motor, communication and language,
  social, cognitive, and self-help skills.
• Specialized tests can also be used to test
  sensorimotor skills and reflexive behaviors for
  infants and toddlers, and preacademic or
  readiness skills necessary for 1st grade.

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Using Developmental Assessment with Young Children

• Useful in determining what child has learned,
  hasnt learned, or needs to learn.
• Information from assessment is applied toward
  individual plan of goals that the child needs to
  achieve.
• As child learns, retesting is needed to determine
  growth in learning
• Adjustments in individual plan according to
  developing skills
• Should adhere to guidelines and legal mandates,
  including IDEA.

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Provisions for Infants and Toddlers

• IDEA extends the rights of FAPE to 3-5 year old
  children with disabilities. These children will
  have an IEP.
• Children with disabilities at the ages of birth
  to 3 will have an IFSP
• -additional regulations
• -multidisciplinary team evaluates the
  families needs.
• -present level of performance along w/
  goals and criteria
• for determining attainment of objectives.
• -nondiscriminatory
• Team approach is a combined effort with parents
  to obtain best information
• Team includes teachers, home intervention
  specialists, therapists, diagnosticians, and
  social workers.

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Questions about Developmental Approach

• What is normal development?
• -referred to as typical patterns that
  happen in a childs development process. Can be
  anywhere from rolling over at 2-4 months to
  walking by one year.
• Is the child following the normal development
  pattern?
• -are there gaps in the development such as
  deficits in major skills that impede further
  development
• -splinter skills refer to skills that are
  acquired before knowing what those skills are.
  Example writing the alphabet w/o understanding
  the meaning of the letters.
• Why are delays occurring?
• -physical or sensory problems (ie. Visual
  impairment)
• -behavioral problems
• -cognitive delays
• -lack of experience and exposure
• What can be done?
• -create an intervention plan according to
  needs. Must depend on factors such as severity
  of delay, reasons behind delay, and age.
• Older children are assessed on functional skills
  (life skills).

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Principles of Developmental Assessment

• Children follow a predictable sequence as they
  develop
• Lower developmental skills precede higher ones.
• Higher skills usually begin before lower skills
  drop out.
• Developmental progress depends in part on
  maturation
• Teachable moments exist for children as they grow
• Children with disabilities may skip stages of
  development
• Children with severe handicaps may develop
  abnormal patterns of development
• -ex physical delay-reflexive movements

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Why do we use Developmental Assessment?

• DIAL-3 (Developmental Indicators for the
  Assessment of Learning, Third Edition)
• - Used for screening to suggest what to do with
  new students and where to begin instruction while
  awaiting comprehensive developmental diagnosis
• - Identify children with possible
  developmental delays
• - Identify, classify, and place infants,
  toddlers, and preschoolers
• - Programming and curriculum development,
  writing IEPs, and developing intervention
  programs

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Developmental Screening

• The purpose is to identify the general
  performance levels of young children from birth
  to approximately 6 years of age.

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Advantages of Developmental Screening

• Developmental screening alerts parents and
  professionals to children who may have a
  developmental delay or learning disability.

Often teachers rely on developmental
screening on determine overall levels of
functioning and to develop initial programming
goals with new students.
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Guidelines for Developmental Screening

• Emphasize hands-on activities rather than
  paper-and-pencil tests.
• Give parents immediate feedback about the results
  of the screening.
• Ensure that all evaluators haves experienced with
  the children being screened.

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Assessment for Developmental Screening

• Title Developmental Indicators for the
  Assessment of Learning, Third Edition
• Authors Mardell, Czudnowski Goldenberg
• Type Norm-referenced, group or individually
  administered
• Major Content Areas Motor development, concept
  development, language skills, self-help skills,
  and social development
• Administration Time 30 to 45 minutes
• Age/Grade Levels 3 to 6 years
• Types of Scores The DIAL-3 provides standard
  deviation and percentile cut-off points for total
  and subtests scores. Percentile ranks and
  standard scores are also provided.
• Computer Aids ASSIST, Windows or Macintosh
  computers
• Typical Uses Identifying students with
  potential delays who need further evaluation

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Assessment for Developmental Screening

• Title Denver II
• Authors Frankenburg
• Type Norm-referenced, individually
  administered
• Major Content Areas Personal-social, fine
  motor-adaptive, gross motor, and language skills
• Administration Time 20 to 30 minutes
• Age/Grade Levels Birth to 6 years
• Types of Scores Uses descriptive statements,
  including advanced, normal, caution, delayed, and
  untestable, rather than number scores
• Typical Uses Identifying students with
  potential delays who need further evaluation

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Diagnostic Scales of Developmental Skills

• Katie Reifel for use in the future

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Purpose

• To produce an understanding of the evaluation of
  performance. This is necessary to recognize those
  who require special needs services, place them
  into appropriate services, develop IEPs, develop
  intervention objectives, and to measure progress.
  
• My name is Katie and Ill be your tour guide
  through this process. )

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Topics of Discussion

• Briefly overview the many types of assessment
  tests and instruments available. So without
  further ado
• Learning Accomplishment Profile - Diagnostic
  Assessment (LAP-D)
• This test evaluates those ages 6 months through 6
  years. This is a norm-referenced test,
  administered one on one. May be used as a test to
  determine the presence of age-appropriate
  developmental skills or as a curriculum guide. It
  evaluates motor skills, language skills,
  cognitive skills and may take between three and
  four hours to administer. The LAP-D assessment
  contains test administration materials for each
  item. Usage should be for students with
  mild-moderate developmental delays.

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Battelle Developmental Inventory

• Its norm-referenced and standardized. Testable
  from infants through eight year olds.
• Tests 5 domains of social skills (motor,
  communication, cognitive, personal-social, and
  adaptive). There is also a testing booklet for
  every domain.
• Uses for this inventory include eligibility and
  placement decisions, in-depth screening
  evaluation, assessing overall development.
• Test includes separate testing booklets for each
  domain, case study reports consisting of
  diagnostic interpretations, an IEP, teaching
  strategies, an examiners manual, an envelope of
  visuals, demonstrational videotape, and
  supplemental materials.
• Length of test 30 minute screening, 1-2 hour
  administration. Can have structured/direct
  observation or an interview type of observation.

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Brigance Inventory of Early Development, Revised

• Type of test criterion-referenced, for ages 7
  years and under.
• Measures perambulatory/gross/fine motor skills,
  self help, speech and language, general knowledge
  and comprehension, readiness, basic reading,
  manuscript writing, and basic math.
• Other purposes are for measuring progress,
  identifying the childs present performance
  level, and to develop intervention programs.

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Other Diagnostic Tests

• Other diagnostic tests may include the Carolina
  Curriculum, Developmental Observation Checklist
  System, and the Mullen Scales of Early Learning
  AGS Edition. These tests measure basic knowledge
  of what skills the students may possess. These
  tests are used on ages 4 through age 7.

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Representative Readiness Tests

• Two basic tests of this type Boehm Test of Basic
  Concepts, Third Edition. This is a
  norm-referenced and group administered test.
• In order to be promoted to the primary grades,
  verbal instruction is assessed. It takes 40
  minutes to administer and is also used to assess
  if a child may have a learning problem.
• Basic School Skills Inventory, Third Edition.
  Norm-referenced. Screening test that is
  individually administered. Used to determine
  students at-risk for school failure. Taking only
  10 minutes to complete, this assessment is valid
  for children four to six years of age.

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• Children with severe disabilities may depend on
  others or medical equipment to maintain life
  functions. The need for curriculum-based
  assessment in non-traditional areas is one of the
  reasons for difficulty in the assessment process.

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• Unique Areas of Assessment
• Primary Method of Communication students may not
  have normal speech. They may communicate by sign
  language, gestures or various body movements.
• Sensory Input and Intactness of Motor Processes
  How well a child can see, hear, move about and
  perform fine motor skills.
• Medical Stability Some students require frequent
  medical care and hospitalization.
• Fatigue Some children with severe disabilities
  tire and lose concentration quickly.
• Maladaptive Behaviors Some children with severe
  disabilities have inappropriate behavior or self
  abuse.

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• Characteristics of Assessment Instruments For
  Students With Severe Disabilities
• Adaptive Response Modes Modifying a test item to
  match the childs unique patterns of responding.
• Flexible Administration Procedures Flexible
  tests allow evaluators to modify the assessment
  to meet the unique needs and response styles.
• Provisions For Giving Partial Credit Scoring
  that provides recognition for completing part of
  a task.
• A Wide Sample Of Behaviors Instruments with many
  items sample an array of behaviors, providing
  opportunities to discover emerging skills and
  behaviors that children can successfully perform.
• Procedures For Developing A Positive Intervention
  Plan Evaluators should use instruments that
  provide a means to develop a positive
  intervention plan.

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• Specialized Developmental Assessment Instruments
• Developmental Activities Screening Inventory-II
  (DASI-II) curriculum-based measure of cognitive
  development 0-5 years.
• Hawaii Early Learning Profile 0-3 (HELP 0-3)
  object performance, imitation skills, means-ends
  relationships, spatial concepts, and cause-effect
  relationships.
• HELP For Preschoolers Assessment and Curriculum
  Guide measures performance in six developmental
  areas for children 3-6 years old.
• Vulpe Assessment Battery Revised Edition (VAB-R)
  measures six domains-gross motor, fine motor,
  language, cognitive development, adaptive
  behavior, and daily living. Organizational
  skills, basis senses and functions, developmental
  reflexes and motor planning for children 0-8
  years old.

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• Infant Assessment
• Differences between assessment for infants and
  toddlers
• Team approach that emphasizes the family unit.
• Home-based assessment rather than school.
• Direct participation from health-related
  disciplines.

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• Steps In Assessment Process
• Obtain case history (evaluators obtain
  information about infants and toddlers and their
  family)
• Conduct developmental screening in the home
  setting.
• Complete comprehensive assessment in natural
  environment.
• Interpret results.
• Discuss results with the parents and
  professionals.

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• Developmental Assessment With Infants and
  Toddlers
• Language and communication
• Fine motor
• Gross motor
• Social development
• Reflex development
• Organizational behavior and cognitive process
• Sensory skills
• Family assessment
• Environmental influences

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• Assessment Instruments For Infants and Toddlers
• Birth to three Assessment and Intervention
  System, 2nd Edition (BTAIS-2) Tool that
  identifies children with potential developmental
  delays.
• Early Learning Accomplishment Profile (E-LAP)
  Assesses overall development for children 0-3
  years old.
• Gross motor
• Fine motor
• Cognitive
• Language
• Self-help skills
• Social/emotional skill areas