The Developmental Profile 4 (DP-4) quickly identifies developmental strengths and weaknesses in five key areas: Physical, Adaptive Behavior, Social-Emotional, Cognitive, and Communication. It can help plan intervention with item-by-item teaching activities, determine eligibility for special education, write IEP goals, determine specific areas for further assessment and monitor progress over time.
Author: Gerald D. Alpern, PhD Purpose: Test for developmental delays in five key area Format: Paper and Pencil Age Range: Birth to 21 years, 11 months Administration: 20 to 40 minutes Format: Parent/Caregiver Interview, Parent/Caregiver Checklist, Teacher Checklist, and Clinician Rating Scoring: Norms-based standard scores, percentiles, stanines, age equivalents, descriptive ranges, and now includes growth scores for progress monitoring, giving you flexibility in using, reporting, and explaining test results.
The DP-4 retains the core elements of its predecessors while adding features that strengthen an instrument already considered the best of its kind. It is a powerful, quick, and cost effective developmental test that helps you:
Quickly identify strengths and weaknesses
Compare development in different key ares
Plan intervention with item-by-item teaching activities
Determine eligibility for special education
Write IEP goals
Determine specific area for further assessment
Monitor progress over time
The DP-4 evaluates children's functioning in just 20 to 40 minutes. It features norms-based standard scores, clear interpretive guidelines, and strong reliability and validity.
Like previous versions, the DP-4 measures development across five scales:
Physical: Large- and small-muscle coordination, strength, stamina, flexibility, and sequential motor skills
Adaptive Behavior: Ability to cope independently with the environment-to eat, dress, work, use current technology, and take care of self and others
Social-Emotional: Interpersonal skills, social-emotional understanding, functioning in social situations, and manner in which the child related to peers and adults
Cognitive: Intellectual abilities and skills prerequisite for academic achievement
Communication: Expressive and receptive communication skills, including written, and gestural language
The DP-4 is a comprehensive assessment instrument with a simple yes-or-no response format that includes 190 test items, each describing a particular skill. The respondent indicates whether or not the child has mastered the skill in question. Within each of the five scales on the interview form, start and stop rules are used, so you don't have to use all five scales if you are interested in just one area of development. Additionally, there is an intervention activity for every item.
Four forms offer flexible administration: Parent/Caregiver Interview Form, Parent/Caregiver Checklist, and Clinician Rating. Spanish forms are available.
Three forms (Parent/Caregiver Interview, Parent/Caregiver Checklist, and Teacher Checklist) provide standard scores and growth scores. The Clinician Rating provides growth scores for monitoring progress.
The DP-4 can be used for a wide range of referral questions related to child development. It is useful when investigating puzzling behavior, responding to parental concerns, or following up on teacher observations. The DP-4 can be completed by multiple raters to provide a more complete picture of how the child displays skills in different settings. Because the DP-4 meets federal criteria for evaluating children with developmental concerns, it is useful in helping to determine eligibility for special education as well as developing IEPs. Its five scales correspond to the five domains specified in IDEA for assessing developmental delays.
The DP-4 can be used to identify developmental strengths and weaknesses. Its norm-based standard scores allow you to compare children's functioning with their peers and design interventionsnthat meet their particular needs. The growth scores allow for monitoring their progress over time.
