The level of neuropsychological development in children is reflected in their abilities across various processes such as perception, motor skills, language, and psychological functions. The assessment of these abilities is referred to as neuropsychological developmental testing. Psychological tests are conducted by specially trained professionals and are selected based on actual needs, with caution to prevent misuse. Neuropsychological developmental assessments can be classified in different ways depending on their content, purpose, and organizational structure. Based on purpose, these tools are most commonly divided into two major categories: screening and diagnostic assessments.
Screening Assessments
Screening and assessment tools are designed to align with the dynamic characteristics of children's development. They are primarily used for periodic monitoring and screening of large populations, and they are widely applied in community-based pediatric settings. Developmental screenings help identify infants and young children who may require early intervention or rehabilitation services and facilitate timely referrals for diagnostic evaluation by specialized medical professionals and subsequent rehabilitative interventions. These tools are characterized by significant involvement of parents or primary caregivers in the assessment process and by their relatively low cost. Common screening tools include:
Denver Development Screening Test (DDST)
This tool is mainly used to screen developmental progress in children under six years of age and is particularly applicable to children under four and a half years. The test content is divided into four functional areas: gross motor skills, fine motor-adaptive skills, language, and personal-social skills. It was revised from the 1966 version of the DDST, with the updated Denver II published in 1990.
Ages & Stages Questionnaire (ASQ)
Suitable for children aged one month to five and a half years, this questionnaire is mainly parent-reported and covers five developmental domains: communication, gross motor skills, fine motor skills, problem-solving, and personal-social skills. Widely used internationally, the ASQ has undergone multiple updates and is currently in its third edition, known as ASQ-3.
Draw-a-Person Test
Applicable to children aged five to nine and a half years, this test involves asking children to draw a full-body front-view figure based on their imagination. Scoring is based on the reasonableness of body parts, proportion, and expression. The correlation coefficient between results from the Draw-a-Person Test and other intelligence tests exceeds 0.5, with especially strong correlations found with reasoning, spatial concepts, and perceptual ability. This test can be administered individually or in groups.
Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test (PPVT)
This tool is used for general intelligence screening in children aged four to nine years. The PPVT includes 120 pictures, each with four black-and-white line drawings. The examiner says a word, and the child identifies the corresponding picture from the four drawings. The test is simple to administer and is especially suitable for children with language or motor impairments. The revised PPVT-R, published in 1981, includes versions L and M and expands the age range to 2.5 to 16 years, with the number of test pictures increased to 175.
Diagnostic Assessments
Diagnostic assessment tools are employed by qualified professionals. These tools are used not only to determine whether children need early intervention or rehabilitation but also to provide guidance for subsequent intervention services. Diagnostic testing often includes a wide range of items that reflect a child’s overall development, making these assessments more time- and labor-intensive. Diagnostic assessments emphasize individual evaluations, with results typically presented as specific numerical values. Commonly used diagnostic tests in pediatric clinical settings include the Bayley Scales of Infant Development, Gesell Developmental Scales, Griffiths Development Scales, Wechsler Preschool and Primary Scale of Intelligence (WPPSI), and the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children - Revised (WISC-R). When evaluating a child’s intelligence, these tools are often combined with the Vineland Adaptive Behavior Scales to diagnose developmental delays in intellectual abilities.