Developmental Profile 3

By Dr. Gerald AlpernPublished by Western Psychological Services

Purposes of the DP-3 Evaluate a child’s development in five key areas:

Physical Adaptive Behavior Social-Emotional Cognitive Communication

Gain valuable parent input about the child’s functioning.

Quickly screen children from birth through age 12 years, 11 months.

Provide intervention recommendations for each skill measured by the DP-3.

A Multidimensional Screening Tool

Useful for many purposes, including: Screening for developmental problems

Responding to parental or teacher concerns Determining areas of strength and weakness Contributing to determination of eligibility for

special education or other services (the five scales meet IDEA guidelines for assessing development delay)

Helping plan I.E.P.s Measuring progress over time

DP-3 Improvements Norm-referenced standard scores based

on a nationally representative sample. Updated item content and scale names. Extended age range. Expanded interpretation guidelines. Availability of the Parent/Caregiver

checklist.

The DP-3 Measures 5 Domains

Physical Large- and small-muscle coordination, strength, stamina,

flexibility, and sequential motor skills.

Adaptive Behavior Ability to cope independently: eat, dress, work, use

technology, and take care of self and others.

Social-Emotional Interpersonal functioning, social and emotional

understanding, and ability to relate to friends, relatives, and adults.

The DP-3 Measures 5 Domains (cont’d)

Cognitive Intellectual abilities and skills necessary for academic

achievement.

Communication Expressive and receptive communication skills, including

written, spoken, and gestural language.

Administration of the DP-3 can include one, a few, or all 5 scales.

If all 5 scales are used, the General Development Score can be calculated as an index of overall development.

Administration is Easy Takes 20-40 minutes. For each item, the respondent indicates whether

or not the child has mastered the skill in question by answering “yes” or “no”.

Two parallel formats: the Interview Form and the Parent/Caregiver Checklist. The same content but the wording is changed to fit the

respondent. The Interview Form is a one-on-one clinician

administered interview of the parent/caregiver and is the preferred method of administration.

The Parent/Caregiver Checklist does not require the clinician to be present and is useful when time or resources are limited.

Comparing the two formats

Sample Interview items P16. Does the child stack

(make a tower of) eight objects such as blocks?

S26. Does the child consider the preferences and interests of friends when planning shared play activities?

G5. Does the child imitate a physical gesture made by an adult, such as pointing?

Sample Checklist items P16. Does your child make a

tower of eight things, such as blocks?

S26. Does your child consider what friends want to do when planning activities with friends?

G5. Does your child imitate something an adult does, such as pointing?

Scoring the DP-3 Hand and computer scoring available. Hand scoring is quick.

Add up the total number of “yes” responses for each scale and convert the raw scores to standard scores using tables in the manual.

Computer scoring provides: Score calculation and description Graphical representation of scores Scale Pattern Analysis and Scale-by-Scale Item Analysis Individualized intervention activities Clinician and Parent Reports

A sample computer report can be found at: www.wpspublish.com/pdf/dp3.pdf

Types of DP-3 Scores The DP-3 provides many types of scores

and interpretation: Norm-referenced standard scores

(recommended for all DP-3 uses) Confidence intervals Descriptive categories Percentile ranks Age equivalents Stanines

Strong Psychometric Characteristics

Standardized on 2,216 children ages birth through 12 years, 11 months.

Relevant demographic characteristics (gender, ethnicity, region, and parent education level) closely match the U.S. Census.

Reliability: Median internal consistency: .89 to .97 Test-retest reliability: .81 to .92

Strong Psychometric Characteristics, cont’d

Validity highlights: DP-3 scores correlated at expected levels with:

Vineland Adaptive Behavior Scales, Second Edition (Vineland-2; Sparrow, Cicchetti, & Balla, 2005)

Developmental Test for Young Children (DAYC; Voress & Maddox, 1998)

Peabody Developmental Motor Skills, Second Edition (PDMS-2; Folio & Fewell, 2002)

Preschool Language Scales, Fourth Edition (PLS-4; Zimmerman, Steiner, & Pond, 2002)

The DP-3 differentiates between typically developing children and those with a clinical problem.

Support for Intervention

Results linked to intervention activities. Suggestions for parents, teachers, or clinicians to

help children in areas of difficulty. Focus on maintaining the child’s self-concept

while teaching new skills. Example:

P16. Encourage continued skill with stacking objects: Once the child has mastered the skill of stacking three

objects, it will generally increase to include additional objects. While he or she is playing happily, bring over some blocks and make a tower of at least one or two additional objects, encouraging the child to copy what you are doing. You can turn it into a game wherein you alternate copying one another.

For More Information contact

Western Psychological Serviceswww.wpspublish.com

800-648-885712031 Wilshire Blvd.

Los Angeles, CA 90025