HDCD 5316: Developmental Assessment

Spring 2006

Instructor: Sherry Bryant; e-mail: sherry.bryant@utdallas.edu

Office: GR4.804 Phone: 972-883-4476

Office Hours: Tuesdays from 10am-Noon; or at times of mutual convenience.

Catalogue Description of Course: See catalogue.

Instructor's Description: This is the second semester of a 2 semester course designed to provide the
student with an in-depth study of the philosophy and skills necessary to participate in state-of-the-art
infant and toddler assessment. The outcomes and objectives were defined in detail in the syllabus for
HDCD 5315.

COMPETENCIES: By completion of the two-course sequence the student will:

1. Know basic measurement concepts, including types of tests, statistical concepts as these apply to
the understanding and interpretation of standardized tests, as well as technical characteristics such as
standardization, validity and reliability.
2. Know and use a variety of informal assessment techniques such as observation in natural
environments. Understand the construction of published observation protocols, their uses and
limitations. Incorporate data from observation into the integrated summary and IFSP.
3. Referral and Eligibility
a.) Know the purposes, importance, and limitations of early identification, referral, and
screening.
b.) Recognize socioeconomic, cultural, and linguistic factors in the child’s family
background, which may influence early identification, referral, screening, and assessment.
c.) Explain to families screening procedures and their role in screening.
d.) Know and administer appropriate screening procedures and instruments.
e.) Know the three categories of state eligibility requirements and when to refer for further
evaluation.
f.) Know how to administer evaluation instruments used to determine eligibility under the
category of developmental delay or atypical development and how to interpret results.
4. Assessment and IFSP Development
a.) Recognize that existing developmental scales and procedures may be linguistically,
culturally, and socioeconomically biased.
b.) Recognize developmental scales and procedures that are linguistically, culturally,
socioeconomically, and psychometrically sound for a child and family.
c.) Conduct an interview to obtain a developmental history that is sensitive to the family’s
background.
d.) Know and use a variety of techniques to relate to infants and toddlers.
e.) Know ECI requirements for procedural safeguards for assessment.
f.) Administer required visual, auditory, nutritional and assistive technology screenings
using appropriate procedures and instruments.
g.) Administer, score, and interpret a variety of screening and developmental scales and
procedures, including but not limited to the following: Denver Developmental Screening Test (DDST);
Bayley Infant Neurodevelopmental Screener (BINS); Developmental Activities Screening Inventory,
(DASI) II; The Bayley Scales of Infant Development (BSID), II; Vineland Adaptive Behavior Scales;

HDCD 5316 syllabus Spring semester 1

Mullen Scales of Early Learning (MSEL); Developmental Assessment of Young Children (DAYC);
Infant and Toddler Developmental Assessment (IDA); Assessment, Evaluation and Programming
System for Young Children (AEPS); Play-Based Assessment (PBA); Functional Emotional Assessment
Scale (FEAS).
h.) Communicate developmental assessment results clearly and concisely to family and other
team members, orally and in written reports.
i.) Prepare family members to take part in the assessment process.
j.) Integrate into assessment reports the information identified by the family about their
child’s functioning, strengths, needs and their desired outcomes for their child.
k.) Help identify and support family strengths, coping strategies, resources and needs.
l.) Know the federal and state requirements for the IFSP.
m.) Know how to integrate the required content and elements of the IFSP into a family-
friendly format.
n.) Work in partnership with the family to describe their daily routines and tasks and how the
infant or toddler fits into these ongoing and recurring patterns.
o.) Respect families’ insights into their own situations and into their children’s behavior and
development
p.) Develop partnerships with families by interacting with them in ways that are sensitive to
their needs and backgrounds.
q.) Participate in the evaluation/assessment process by: 1 preparing families to participate as
team members in the assessment process; 2. using informal observations and procedures in assessment
process, capturing the child’s authentic behaviors in routine circumstances; 3. administering, scoring and
interpreting valid and reliable developmental scales and using the results to summarize functional levels,
strengths and needs of each infant/toddler; 4. communicating developmental assessment results clearly
and concisely to families and other team members; 5. assisting families in beginning the process of
identifying their concerns, priorities and resources related to enhancing their child’s development.
5. Other Competencies
a.) Know principles and use basic techniques of trans-disciplinary play-based assessment;
complete TPBA worksheets and write reports using this paradigm.
b.) Become familiar with other professional disciplines, their assessment techniques,
approaches, and the information obtained from these approaches.
c.) Be familiar with tests and techniques for assessing children with visual, auditory,
physical, behavioral, and communication difficulties.
d.) Know the decision-making process involved in differential diagnosis, including use of the
Diagnostic Classification System for Birth to Three.
e.) Know the roles of all early intervention team members, including family members.
f.) Know the range and limitations of the professional role of the EIS.

Course texts and readings

2nd Semester (Spring)
1. a. Transdisciplinary Play-Based Assessment (TPBA), Linder, 1993.
b. TPBA worksheets also needed-I will order this for you at the beginning of the 2 nd semester.

2. Assessment, Evaluation, and Programming System for Infants and Children;

Volume 2 (Test book), Bricker, 2002.

Additional readings are on reserve in the McDermott Library. The direct link is:
http://utdallas.docutek.com/eres/coursepage.aspx?cid=60. I will give you the password to access it.

HDCD 5316 syllabus Spring semester 2

Spring Semester
Assignments and Activities (by due date) and Points: 100 Total Points possible

Pts. Date Assignment

12 1-26 Video, protocol, self-critique and report of DAYC and
3 Vision, hearing, nutrition and assistive technology screenings

5 2-02 Video, self-critique and Cognitive AND

5 Social-Emotional TPBA worksheets

5 2-16 Video, self-critique and Communication/Language AND

5 Sensory Motor TPBA worksheets

20 3-02 Group Project: video, worksheets and report on TPBA

15 3-30 Video, protocol, self-critique and report on AEPS

15 4-13 Video, protocol, self-critique and report on IDA

15 4-27 Pairs Project: protocol and report for FEAS

5 2-23 or 3-2 Presentation

Assignments are due on the designated date (see course schedule presented in this syllabus).
Assignments will not be accepted late, without prior arrangements. Assignments submitted later than
the due date will receive an automatic 5% reduction in grade for every day that it is late. Assignments
will not be accepted after 5 days. Incomplete assignments will also be assessed penalty points.

All written material submitted should be typed and formatted according to the specifications given by
the instructor.
If you have difficulty in the area of written communication skills, you must obtain the assistance of the
UTD Learning Resource Center Writing Lab (on the website and at 972-883-6707). Special attention
must be given to the following:
* grammar, punctuation, spelling
* sentence and paragraph structure
* tense and parallel usage
* organization, neatness and content knowledge
Assignments with numerous spelling and/or grammatical errors will not be read; they will be returned to
the student for correction and resubmission by the next class period. A 5% penalty will be assessed on
the final grade for that assignment.

The expectation for this class is that students will be on time and in attendance. Absences will be
excused only for an obvious illness. Please be sure to inform me prior to missing a class either in person,
via e-mail or voice mail. It is the student’s responsibilities to access all information presented for the
missed class session from other students in the class and arrange for assignments to be turned in on time.
The faculty instructor is not responsible for ensuring the student has the missed materials. No make-up
tests will be given without prior approval. If a student is a “no show” at the time of the class, the
student will automatically earn a zero. If a student arrives to a class session after it has begun, he/she

HDCD 5316 syllabus Spring semester 3

is expected to enter quietly and take a seat in the least disruptive location.

As a member of the UTD academic community, please adhere to the following guidelines: (a) reference
all work; (b) do not use projects from previous courses; (c) do not plagiarize. Review the graduate
catalogue material on academic dishonesty.

The general expectation is that students will, across the semester, put in a total of 45 hours of work for
each semester credit hour (SCH) they are enrolled for. For a typical 3 SCH commitment during a
regular (115 week) semester, the student should devote 135 total hours of effort, or 9 hours per week.
The number of hours expected per week varies according to the length of the semester. For shorter
terms, the number of hours per week increases. Full credit is earned only by work that is clearly
outstanding. It is unlikely that full credit could be earned without a significant investment of time
beyond the minimum requirement of 3 clock hours per SCH.

You should keep an extra copy of all assignments for your records before they are turned in to the
instructor.
Lecture topics and dates provide a tentative schedule. They are subject to change as needed at the
discretion of the instructor. Assignment due dates may also be changed. These changes will be
announced in class.

If you have a documented disability, you can arrange for accommodations by registering with Disability
Services (DS) at 972-883-2098 (voice or TTY). You are required to provide DS with appropriate
documentation and they will provide you with a form to present to the course instructor. You must
register with DS each semester you are enrolled at UTD and wish to use accommodations. Faculty are
not authorized to provide a student with disability related accommodations without prior approval from
DS. Additional information is available on the UTD web site under Disability Services.

PLEASE TURN OFF CELL PHONES PRIOR TO ENTERING CLASSROOM. UNDER NO

CONDITIONS MAY YOU ANSWER A CELL PHONE WHILE CLASS IS IN SESSION – YOU
MUST LEAVE THE ROOM COMPLETELY BEFORE ANSWERING.

Instructions For Target Family: Find a family with an infant or toddler older than 4 months of age,
but who will not turn 3 (36 months) until next May or later. You will observe, interact with, interview,
screen and assess this child/family for 2 semesters. All interactions will be videotaped so the family
should know this before agreeing to participate.

From prior experience, I strongly encourage you to use a family you do not know intimately because
that knowledge and relationship may bias your work in one way or another. However, you must make it
clear to the family that you will be spending a great deal of time with them over the course of these 2
semesters, and that this may inconvenience them. If you stress that they are participating in your
training they may recognize the critical importance of their role. You should plan on doing something
nice for the family to repay their participation on your behalf. Give the family the dates that UTD will
be closed, including holidays and breaks between semesters.

Instructions For Videotaping: Work in pairs to videotape; each team member will have a target
child/family; each will videotape the other, thus doubling your experience. When you are the
cameraperson, be sure to refrain from interaction, talking, coughing, etc. during taping. Please do not
use the zoom; just set the camera on wide-angle.

HDCD 5316 syllabus Spring semester 4

Each video must be labeled (your name/child’s 1st name and DOB) and accompanied by a self-critique.
(This means you must view the tape before submitting it!)

Grading: All assignments will be awarded points based on completeness, accuracy, and quality.
Full credit is given for work that is truly outstanding and would be recognized as such by anyone
familiar with the material. Because assessment of infants, toddlers, young children and their families is
so complex, it is an ethical imperative that those who do it are highly competent and skilled so no harm
is done to these vulnerable individuals.

90 - 100: A
80 - 89: B
70 - 79: C

*If a student takes an incomplete, she/he must have all requirements for the course turned in to the
instructor within 8 weeks. An incomplete is given if a student requests it, BUT ONLY for a very serious
reason-such as your target family is not available for you to complete the assignments-you’re in the
hospital. You must, at the time of the request, have a passing grade in the class

HDCD 5316 syllabus Spring semester 5