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What is the IPRS, and what does it assess?
The IPRS is a structured rating-scale instrument used by trained professionals to record, in a consistent way, how a child is functioning across observed areas such as communication, social interaction, attention and behaviour, daily-living skills and motor function. It is a measurement lens, not a diagnosis on its own — always interpreted by a qualified clinician alongside the wider picture of the child, and useful for understanding a profile and tracking change over time.
Read the answer AnswerWhat is the MacArthur–Bates Communicative Development Inventories (CDI)?
The MacArthur–Bates Communicative Development Inventories (CDI) are parent-report questionnaires that measure a young child's early communication — typically from around 8 months to 3 years. Because parents complete them from everyday life, they capture real-world skills: words understood, words said, gestures, and early word combinations. The CDI is a screening and research tool, not a diagnosis; a low score is an invitation to look more closely with a professional.
Read the answer AnswerWhat is the Miller Function & Participation Scales (M-FUN)?
The Miller Function & Participation Scales (M-FUN) is a standardised, play-based assessment used by occupational therapists to understand how a young child's motor skills support everyday participation at home, in play and at school. It examines fine-motor, gross-motor and visual-motor abilities, and uniquely links them to participation observations from parents and teachers. It is not a diagnosis but one tool, interpreted by a qualified clinician alongside history and observation, to map strengths and gentle areas of need.
Read the answer AnswerWhat is the M-CHAT-R/F and what does it assess?
The M-CHAT-R/F is a free, parent-completed screening questionnaire for toddlers aged about 16–30 months that asks simple questions about play, pointing, eye contact, gestures and responding to others. It is a two-step tool — a checklist followed by a structured follow-up interview — designed to flag children who may benefit from a fuller developmental assessment. It is a screen, not a diagnosis; many children who screen positive are not autistic, and the AAP recommends routine autism screening at the 18- and 24-month visits.
Read the answer AnswerWhat is the Motor area of child development?
The motor area of child development describes how a child learns to move, balance and use their body. It is usually split into gross motor (big movements like crawling, walking and jumping) and fine motor (precise hand and finger movements like pinching and drawing). In the WHO ICF framework it maps to neuromusculoskeletal and movement-related functions (b7). It is a foundation that supports play, learning and independence, and children progress along their own timelines.
Read the answer AnswerWhat is the Mullen Scales of Early Learning (MSEL)?
The Mullen Scales of Early Learning (MSEL) is a structured, play-based assessment of early development for children from birth to around 68 months. Administered by a trained professional, it measures five areas — gross motor, fine motor, visual reception, receptive language and expressive language — to build a rounded picture of how a young child is learning. It is a developmental measure that maps strengths and emerging needs, not a diagnosis on its own.
Read the answer AnswerWhat is the NEPSY-II and what does it assess?
The NEPSY, 2nd Edition (NEPSY-II) is a clinician-administered, standardised neuropsychological assessment for children aged roughly 3 to 16 years. Through a flexible set of playful subtests, it helps a qualified professional understand how a child attends, uses language, remembers, moves, processes visual-spatial information and reads social cues. It is an assessment tool — not a diagnosis or a label — and is always interpreted by a trained clinician as part of a wider developmental picture.
Read the answer AnswerParenting Stress Index, 4th Ed (PSI): Definition
The Parenting Stress Index, 4th Edition (PSI-4) is a parent-completed questionnaire that measures stress in the parenting role for families of children from about one month to twelve years. It groups stress into a Parent Domain (competence, isolation, attachment, mood, health, partner relationship) and a Child Domain (the child's adaptability, demandingness, mood and how reinforcing they feel), giving a Total Stress picture. It measures the parent's experience, not the child — it is not a diagnosis. Clinicians use it to decide whether parent coaching, counselling or practical support should accompany a child's therapy.
Read the answer AnswerWhat is the Peabody Developmental Motor Scales, 2nd ed. (PDMS-2)?
The Peabody Developmental Motor Scales, 2nd edition (PDMS-2) is a standardised, clinician-administered assessment of motor development for children from birth to about 5 years. It assesses two broad areas — gross motor (sitting, walking, balance, ball skills) and fine motor (grasping and visual-motor integration) — across six subtests. It gives a structured profile of a child's motor strengths and progress over time, and is used to understand where a child is starting from and to measure change after therapy, but it is not a diagnosis on its own.
Read the answer AnswerWhat is the PPVT-5 and what does it assess?
The PPVT-5 is an individually administered test of receptive vocabulary — how many spoken words a person understands. The examiner says a word and the child points to the matching picture among four, so no reading, writing or speaking is needed. It gives a standardised, age-referenced snapshot of listening vocabulary across early childhood to adulthood, and is one piece of a fuller language assessment rather than a diagnosis on its own.
Read the answer AnswerPediatric Evaluation of Disability Inventory (PEDI)
The Pediatric Evaluation of Disability Inventory (PEDI) is a structured assessment of a child's everyday functional skills — self-care, mobility and social function — and how much caregiver help they need. It is not a diagnosis but a way to understand a child's daily abilities, set meaningful goals and track progress, and is commonly used with children who have developmental delays or disabilities.
Read the answer AnswerWhat is the Picture Exchange Communication System (PECS)?
The Picture Exchange Communication System (PECS) is a structured way of teaching children with little or no speech to communicate by handing over a picture card to request something they want. Taught in gentle stages, it begins with the powerful discovery that communication works, then grows towards building sentences and commenting. Designed especially for non-speaking and autistic children, it is one of several AAC approaches and is built to support, not replace, the emergence of spoken language.
Read the answer AnswerWhat is the PLS-5 and what does it assess?
The Preschool Language Scales, 5th Edition (PLS-5) is a clinician-administered, play-based assessment of early language for children from birth to about 7 years 11 months. It measures two sides of communication: Auditory Comprehension (understanding language) and Expressive Communication (using words and sentences), which together give a Total Language picture. It is one tool among several and is most meaningful when read alongside a child's history, play and everyday communication — never as a label on its own.
Read the answer AnswerWhat is the Sensory area of child development?
The sensory area of child development is how a child takes in and responds to information from their senses — sight, hearing, touch, taste, smell, plus balance and body-awareness. In the WHO ICF framework it sits under sensory functions (b2). It is a foundation for settling, attending, playing and learning. Children vary in how they seek or avoid sensory input, and gentle, playful support — and a review when daily life is affected — helps a child feel comfortable and capable.
Read the answer AnswerWhat is the Sensory Profile 2 (SP-2), and what does it assess?
The Sensory Profile 2 (SP-2) is a clinician-administered questionnaire, completed by parents, carers or teachers, that describes how a child takes in and responds to everyday sensory information — sound, sight, touch, movement, taste and smell. Covering children from birth to around 14 years, it identifies recognisable patterns such as seeking, avoiding, sensitivity and slow registration across daily settings. It is not a diagnosis but a structured way to understand how a child experiences the world, so support can be tailored to them.
Read the answer AnswerWhat is the Social area of child development?
The Social area of child development describes how a child connects and interacts with other people — relating to family, making friends, sharing, taking turns and joining group play. In the WHO ICF framework it sits under interpersonal interactions and relationships (d7). It builds gradually through everyday warmth and play, overlaps with language and emotion, and is best understood as one thread of the whole child rather than a single skill or diagnosis.
Read the answer AnswerSocial Responsiveness Scale, 2nd Ed (SRS-2)
The Social Responsiveness Scale, Second Edition (SRS-2) is a widely used questionnaire completed by a parent, carer or teacher that gives clinicians a structured picture of how a child notices, responds to and connects with others. It assesses areas of social communication and interaction — social awareness, social thinking, social motivation and patterns of behaviour — across different lifespan forms. It is a screening and supporting tool, never a stand-alone diagnosis, and is interpreted by a qualified clinician alongside direct observation and other information.
Read the answer AnswerWhat is the SSIS and what does it assess?
The Social Skills Improvement System Rating Scales (SSIS) is a structured, questionnaire-style tool that collects ratings from parents, teachers and older children to assess a child's social skills, problem behaviours and — in the teacher form — academic competence, across roughly ages 3 to 18. It is not a diagnosis but one carefully designed lens that highlights social strengths and areas where support may help, and works best when several viewpoints are combined and interpreted by a qualified professional.
Read the answer AnswerWhat is the Stanford-Binet Intelligence Scales (SBIS)?
The Stanford-Binet Intelligence Scales (SBIS) is a clinician-administered, standardised test of cognitive ability — how a person reasons, solves problems, remembers and works with words and ideas. It gives an overall measure plus scores across five areas: fluid reasoning, knowledge, quantitative reasoning, visual-spatial processing and working memory, across both verbal and non-verbal channels. It is one part of a wider evaluation, must be interpreted by a trained professional, and a single number never defines a child.
Read the answer AnswerWhat is the TEACCH approach?
The TEACCH approach (Treatment and Education of Autistic and related Communication-handicapped CHildren) is a structured, evidence-informed framework developed at the University of North Carolina to support autistic children and adults. It makes the environment more predictable and visually clear through physical structure, visual schedules and work systems, working with how many autistic minds naturally process information. The aim is to remove unnecessary barriers and build independence, communication and confidence — not to change who a child is. It is often woven alongside speech and occupational therapy at home, in classrooms and in centres.
Read the answer AnswerWhat is the Track & Correction Fusion module?
Track & Correction Fusion continuously compares a child's measured progress against their plan and flags exactly when and where to adjust — so therapy is corrected by data, in time, not in hindsight.
Read the answer AnswerTrivandrum Developmental Screening Chart (TDSC) explained
The Trivandrum Developmental Screening Chart (TDSC) is a quick, low-cost developmental screening tool developed in India to flag possible developmental delay in young children. It is a screen, not a diagnosis: a vertical line is drawn at the child's age and milestones the line crosses are checked. It assesses broad early development — gross motor, fine motor, language and social/self-help skills — and is designed for easy use by health workers in community and clinic settings. A positive screen is an invitation to a fuller clinician-led assessment, not a label.
Read the answer AnswerVineland Adaptive Behavior Scales, 3rd ed. (Vineland-3)
The Vineland Adaptive Behavior Scales, Third Edition (Vineland-3) is a widely used, clinician-administered assessment of adaptive behaviour — the practical everyday skills a person uses to live, learn and relate to others. It measures functioning across communication, daily living skills, socialisation and (in younger children) motor skills, gathered with someone who knows the person well. It is not an IQ test or a diagnosis on its own, but a real-world map of strengths and needs used to guide support and track progress across the lifespan.
Read the answer AnswerWPPSI-IV: What It Is & What It Assesses
The WPPSI-IV is a clinician-administered cognitive assessment for young children, typically aged 2 years 6 months to 7 years 7 months. Through friendly, game-like tasks it explores verbal comprehension, visual-spatial skills, fluid reasoning, working memory and processing speed, producing a profile of cognitive strengths and needs. It is a tool for understanding a child, not a label or a diagnosis, and is most useful as one part of a wider developmental picture interpreted by a qualified professional.
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