Who should take the measures on this site?
If you are the parent or adult most responsible for raising your child, you can answer the questions on our tests.
Your child must be younger than 8 years of age.
PEDS:DM-AL is mid-level assessment measure of development, social-emotional and mental health with 6-8 questions in each of 8 developmental domains (Fine motor, Gross motor, Expressive Language, Receptive Language, Self-Help, Social-Emotional, Academic/Pre-Academic, Cognitive) for children birth to 8 years of age.
Instruments that reside somewhere between screening (identifying risk of possible problems) and diagnostics (identifying specific problems and the degree of problems) are called mid-level assessment tools and offer a welcome compromise between screening tests and diagnostic measures. If your child has already been given a screening test or tests and been identified as at-risk for developmental delays, or has been given screens and identified as not being at-risk, but you want to get a better understanding of your child's developmental strengths and weaknesses, then our mid-level assessment measure, PEDS:DM-AL will do just that!
You can give this measure to your child every few months to track your child's progress over time and see how they are developing and growing. You can download and print a blank copy of the PEDS:DM-AL Recording Grid so that you can fill in your child's test results and keep your own visual record of your child's progress over time. For reference you can also download a copy of a filled-out Recording Grid as an example. You can also print the results and recommendation letters generated with your test results to share your concerns with other professionals and educators who interact with your child.
Our site also offers the screening test, Parents' Evaluation of Developmental Status (PEDS) that you can take whether or not your child has had other screening tests. PEDS will capture your concerns and unique description of your child that you can print out and take to your pediatrician or daycare or school to share with other professionals.
Note :
If your child has had recent diagnostic testing, is in the process of being tested, or is enrolled in therapy, you may not need our service. That said, if your child is between 18 months and 5 years of age and you have specific questions about the possibility of autism spectrum disorder (ASD), you may benefit from taking our screening measures in order to find your child's risk for ASD and what to do if the risk level is high. If this is the case, we will show you how to follow the American Academy of Neurology's recommendations.
If your child has passed his or her 8th birthday and you have concerns about his or her progress, please contact the school psychologist at your child's school and request that screening tests be given. Also, if your child is already enrolled in school, the school may have given your child group achievement tests. Look at the results carefully. Scores below the 20th percentile suggest the need for more complete testing. If you are not happy with your efforts to work with the school system, please look for a developmental-behavioral pediatrician or a developmental psychologist in the yellow pages and make an appointment. Developmental psychologists and developmental-behavioral pediatricians specialize in children who may have special challenges with learning and behavior.
Please check back.
We will be adding further screening measures for older children soon. If you'd like us to alert you when that occurs, please send us a message by clicking here "Feedback Form".