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Assessment & diagnosis
Should my child have an ADOS-2 assessment, and what does it involve?
The ADOS-2 is a gold-standard, clinician-administered observation used as part of an autism assessment, never on its own. It is a structured, play-based session lasting around 40–60 minutes that watches how your child communicates, interacts and plays. Whether your child needs one is decided by a clinician after a developmental review — it is always combined with your child's history and never used to label in isolation.
Read the answer AnswerShould My Child Have an ADOS-T Assessment, and What Does It Involve?
The ADOS-T is a gentle, play-based observation that trained clinicians use to look closely at how a toddler (roughly 12–30 months) communicates, plays and shares attention. It lasts about 40–60 minutes, is parent-present, and forms just one part of a wider assessment — never a stand-alone label. Whether your child needs one is a clinician's decision, usually after a general developmental check. AbilityScore® is part of Pinnacle’s developmental assessment. Diagnosis, where needed, requires an appropriately qualified healthcare professional.
Read the answer AnswerShould my child have an ASQ-3 assessment, and what does it involve?
The ASQ-3 is a short, parent-completed developmental screening questionnaire for children from about 1 month to 5½ years. It takes 10–15 minutes and asks about everyday skills across communication, gross motor, fine motor, problem solving and personal-social areas. It is a first-look screen, never a diagnosis — and if it flags an area, a fuller clinician-led assessment is the right next step.
Read the answer AnswerShould My Child Have an ASQ:SE-2 Assessment, and What Does It Involve?
The ASQ:SE-2 is a quick, parent-completed screening questionnaire for children aged 1 month to 6 years that looks at social and emotional development — self-regulation, social connection, managing feelings, and responding to routines. It takes 10–15 minutes and gives a typical, monitor, or needs-further-assessment result. It is a screen, not a diagnosis; a flagged result simply means a clinician-led look would help.
Read the answer AnswerShould My Child Have a BASC-3 Assessment, and What Does It Involve?
The BASC-3 is a questionnaire-based tool that helps a clinician understand a child's emotions and behaviour — attention, anxiety, mood, social skills and coping — using ratings from parents, teachers and (for older children) the child. It looks at strengths as well as difficulties, takes around 10–20 minutes per form, and is most useful when there are real behavioural or emotional concerns. It is never a diagnosis on its own; whether your child needs it is decided by a qualified Pinnacle clinician.
Read the answer AnswerShould My Child Have a Bayley-4 Assessment, and What Does It Involve?
The Bayley-4 is a clinician-administered, play-based assessment for children aged about 1 to 42 months that maps cognitive, language, motor, social-emotional and adaptive development. It feels like guided play, takes around 30 to 90 minutes, and is used to establish a clear developmental baseline rather than to label. Whether your child needs one is a clinical decision, made with a qualified clinician at a Pinnacle Blooms Network centre.
Read the answer AnswerShould my child have a BOT-2 assessment, and what does it involve?
The BOT-2 is a well-established, game-like assessment of a child's gross and fine motor skills for ages 4–21, usually taking 45–60 minutes. It helps when a child seems clumsy, tires quickly, or struggles with handwriting, scissors or catching. Whether your child should have one is best decided with a clinician — it is a measure, never a label.
Read the answer AnswerShould my child have a BRIEF-2 assessment, and what does it involve?
The BRIEF-2 is a structured rating questionnaire that helps a clinician understand your child's everyday executive-function skills — organisation, impulse control, working memory, getting started and managing emotions. You, a teacher, and sometimes your older child complete practical forms (around 10–15 minutes each), giving a clinician a clear picture across home and school. Whether your child should have one is decided with a Pinnacle clinician; it is one input into a clinician-administered assessment, never a standalone label.
Read the answer AnswerShould My Child Have a CARS-2 Assessment, and What Does It Involve?
The CARS-2 is a clinician-administered tool that rates behaviours linked to autism through observation and a parent questionnaire across areas such as relating to others, communication and response to change. It is best used as one part of a fuller developmental assessment, never a stand-alone label, and is appropriate from toddler age once social-communication skills are meaningfully observable. Only a Pinnacle clinician can decide if it fits your child and what any findings mean.
Read the answer AnswerShould my child have a CDC-LTSAE assessment, and what does it involve?
The CDC "Learn the Signs. Act Early." milestones are free, parent-friendly screening checklists — not a clinical assessment. You tick what your child does at their age band across social, language, movement and thinking skills, and flag anything missing. They guide a conversation, never diagnose. If a checklist raises a concern, the next step is a developmental check with a qualified clinician at a Pinnacle Blooms Network centre.
Read the answer AnswerShould My Child Have a CDI Assessment?
The MacArthur–Bates CDI is a parent-completed checklist of the words, gestures and early sentences your child understands and uses, usually for ages 8–30 months. It is gentle, non-invasive and based on what you see at home, taking 20–40 minutes. Whether your child should have one depends on your concerns and age — a Pinnacle clinician can confirm if it's the right fit and combines it with a clinician-administered assessment, never a label.
Read the answer AnswerShould My Child Have a CELF-5 Assessment?
The CELF-5 is a structured, clinician-administered language assessment for children roughly 5–21 years, used to understand how a child listens to, understands and uses spoken language. Whether your child needs one is decided with a speech-language pathologist, based on what you and teachers notice. It is one careful tool, never a standalone label, and at Pinnacle it sits within a clinician-administered AbilityScore® assessment.
Read the answer AnswerShould My Child Have a CELF-P2 Assessment?
The CELF-P2 is a clinician-administered language assessment for children aged about 3 to 6, mapping how well your child understands and uses language through gentle, play-based, picture activities. It's worth considering if your child seems to understand less than peers, struggles with sentences or instructions, or is often hard to understand. It is never a label — only a Pinnacle clinician confirms what results mean.
Read the answer AnswerShould My Child Have a CONNERS-3 Assessment?
The CONNERS-3 is a questionnaire-based tool that helps clinicians understand attention, hyperactivity and behaviour in children aged about 6–18, using parent, teacher and self-report forms. It's usually considered when difficulties show up across more than one setting and affect daily life. It is one input within a wider clinical assessment — never a stand-alone diagnosis, which is formed only at a Pinnacle Blooms Network centre under qualified clinician care.
Read the answer AnswerShould my child have a DAYC-2 assessment, and what does it involve?
The DAYC-2 is a gentle, clinician-administered assessment for children from birth to about 5 years 11 months, looking at communication, cognition, motor skills, social-emotional development, and everyday adaptive skills. It uses observation, play-based activities, and a parent interview to map your child's strengths and areas needing support. Whether it suits your child is best decided with a clinician — it is one helpful tool, never a label.
Read the answer AnswerShould My Child Have a Denver II Assessment, and What Does It Involve?
The Denver II is a quick developmental screen — not a diagnosis — that checks personal-social, fine motor, language and gross motor skills in about 15–25 minutes. It's a reasonable first look if you or your doctor have questions about your child's development, with the choice best made alongside a clinician. Any flagged area leads to a fuller clinician-led assessment, never a label.
Read the answer AnswerShould My Child Have a DP-3 Assessment, and What Does It Involve?
The Developmental Profile 3 (DP-3) is a structured questionnaire that maps a child's development across physical, adaptive, social-emotional, cognitive and communication areas from birth to about 12 years. It draws on parent knowledge plus clinician input, takes around 20–40 minutes, and gives an organised profile. It is a screening and progress tool, never a stand-alone diagnosis — only a Pinnacle clinician can confirm what the findings mean.
Read the answer AnswerShould my child have a DP-4 assessment, and what does it involve?
The DP-4 is a structured, clinician-guided assessment that profiles your child across five areas — physical, adaptive, social-emotional, cognitive and communication. It's a good fit when you want a broad whole-child snapshot rather than a single-skill check. Whether it suits your child is best decided with a Pinnacle clinician, who matches the right tool to your child's age and your concerns. It is never a label.
Read the answer AnswerShould My Child Have an FES Assessment?
The Family Environment Scale (FES) is a parent questionnaire that maps your home's emotional climate — warmth, communication, conflict and routine — to give clinicians context for a therapy plan. It doesn't test or diagnose your child; whether it's used is a clinician's decision alongside your child's developmental assessment, and any AbilityScore® or diagnosis is formed only at a Pinnacle centre under qualified care.
Read the answer AnswerShould my child have a GARS-3 assessment, and what does it involve?
The GARS-3 is a structured rating scale, completed by parents or teachers and interpreted by a clinician, that organises observations of autism-related behaviours. It is a screening and information-gathering tool, not a standalone diagnosis, and is best used as one part of a fuller clinician-administered assessment. Whether your child needs one is a decision to make with a qualified clinician.
Read the answer AnswerShould my child have a GMFM assessment, and what does it involve?
The GMFM is a gentle, clinician-administered measure of big-body movement — rolling, sitting, crawling, standing and walking — used most often for children with motor conditions like cerebral palsy. It maps current ability and tracks progress over time against your child's own baseline. Whether your child should have one is a clinical decision made with your physiotherapist; it is a measure of movement skill, never a diagnosis.
Read the answer AnswerShould My Child Have a Griffiths III Assessment, and What Does It Involve?
The Griffiths III is an internationally used, play-based developmental assessment that maps a child's profile across five areas — foundations of learning, language, coordination, personal-social-emotional and gross motor skills. It is gentle and observational rather than test-like, and produces a strengths-and-support picture, not a diagnosis on its own. Whether your child needs one is best decided with a developmental clinician, who may use it alongside a clinician-administered AbilityScore®.
Read the answer AnswerShould my child have an IPRS assessment, and what does it involve?
An IPRS assessment can help when you have questions about how your child communicates, relates or copes — but a qualified clinician should decide whether it fits, using it within a wider developmental review rather than as a stand-alone label. It draws on your observations, gentle structured tasks and clinical judgement to set a baseline you can re-measure. Any AbilityScore® or diagnosis is formed only at a Pinnacle centre under clinician care.
Read the answer AnswerShould My Child Have an ISAA Assessment?
The ISAA is a structured, clinician-administered scale used in India to assess the presence and degree of autism, usually from about age 3, and is often the basis for disability certification. Whether your child should have one depends on the concerns observed — the right first step is a general developmental check, after which a qualified clinician decides if the ISAA is appropriate. It is one part of a fuller picture, never a single number, and any diagnosis is formed only at a Pinnacle centre under qualified clinician care.
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