Developmental assessment of children aims to determine if the child develops at the same pace as other children of the same age (Bellman, Byrne, & Sege, 2013). In the developmental assessment, “The comparison group is obtained from a representative sample of the population that the child comes from” (Bellman et al., 2013, p. 1). The assessment process usually involves the evaluation of the child’s performance by four developmental domains: gross and fine motor skills, speech and language, social and personal activities of daily living, and performance and cognition (Bellman et al., 2013, p. 1).
Developmental assessment is essential for a pediatric care provider as it provides an opportunity to produce “a definitive diagnosis and a more individualized approach to guide the plan of care and manage the child’s concerns” (Burns, Dunn, Brady, Starr, & Blosser, 2013, p. 51). Assessment is a lengthy process that involves monitoring the child’s development over time, which is why it also makes it possible for the care provider to determine if the proposed care plan is yielding results, as well as to tailor the plan to achieve a higher level of effectiveness (Moodie, Daneri, Goldhagen, Halle, Green, & LaMonte, 2014).
Finally, the results of the assessment can be used by the care provider to supply the parents with suggestions and provisions for home care. The developmental screening and assessment are composed of several key components, including “the child’s attention, activities, verbalization, connection with the parent, processing of information, quality of movements, cooperation, and ability to follow requests” (Burns et al., 2013, p. 52). Each one of the components is evaluated based on the child’s age (Burns et al., 2013).
The choice of the most accurate tool for use in the assessment process depends on the developmental components evaluated, as well as on the age of the child. For instance, in order to assess the communication, motor and social skills of an English-speaking 3-year-old child, I would choose Ages and Stages Questionnaire, because it covers the domains and age listed (Moodie et al., 2014). However, in the case with older children, parent evaluation questionnaires may be more reliable, as parents had a chance to observe the child’s development over a significant period of time and could notice difficulties or problems that other screenings would not address.
Using the Parents’ Evaluation of Developmental Status tool, it is also possible to examine children coming from various cultural and linguistic backgrounds, as the forms used in the assessment process are translated into 14 languages (Moodie et al., 2014).
Overall, in the examination of basic biological functioning components, I would consider the elements that are most crucial to child’s wellbeing, such as motor and cognitive function, language, and communication skills. I believe that any disruptions to these features can have a great impact on the child’s welfare and further development, which is why addressing them is critical to provide tailored health care services for the child.
Moreover, they are relatively easy to assess, and there are reliable assessment and screening methods that evaluate these components. I also think that the evaluation of the components listed would be useful in examining children of all ages, as the development of these functions continues throughout childhood and is not limited to a particular stage. Finally, by assessing these components, I would also be able to determine if any smaller developmental components need to be addressed, as most of them are somehow linked to the features listed.
References
Bellman, M., Byrne, O., & Sege, R. (2013). Developmental assessment of children. The BMJ, 346(e8687), 1-9. Web.
Burns, C. E., Dunn, A. M., Brady, M. A., Starr, N. B., & Blosser, C. G. (2013). Pediatric primary care (5th ed.). Philadelphia, PA: Elsevier Saunders.
Moodie, S., Daneri, P., Goldhagen, S., Halle, T., Green, K., & LaMonte, L. (2014). Early childhood developmental screening: A compendium of measures for children ages birth to five (OPRE Report 2014,Â11). Washington, DC: Office of Planning, Research and Evaluation, Administration for Children and Families, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.