Transdisciplinary
Play-Based
Assessment II
Danielle Nester & Taylor Normand
Key Characteristics


Age Range
 Birth – 6 years
What is it?
 Occurs in natural environment
 Play-based & child/family centered
 Team approach of the parent and
skilled professionals (i.e. OT, PT,
SLP)
 Everyone involved in observation,
discussion, feedback, and
knowledge of their expertise
 Benefits children that don’t test
well with standardized (i.e. ASD,
behavioral or emotional problems)
or have a language barrier

Purpose

Used for identifying services,
developing interventions, and
evaluating progress

Provides important info on
child’s function through
different context

Gives an idea where the child is
developmentally

Assessment is a process, not a
tool
Domains & Sub-domains
Sensorimotor (7)
Social & Emotional
(7)
Communication (7)
Cognitive (7)
Gross motor
Emotional
expression &
adaptability
Language
comprehension &
production
Attention &
memory
Motor planning &
coordination
Emotional &
Pragmatics
behavioral regulation
Problem solving
Sensory
modulation with
emotion, activity
level, & attention
Sense of self
Articulation
Social cognition
Sensorimotor in
daily life and selfcare
Social interactions
Voice & fluency
Literacy
Vision
Hearing
Testing Procedures


Preparing for session

Child & Family History Questionnaire (CFHQ)
 Medical, social, & developmental history

Family Assessment of Child Functioning
(FACF)
 Daily routines rating form
 All about me questionnaire

Pre-assessment planning meeting
During play session

Dynamic & flexible

Play facilitation, parent facilitation,
observation, videotaping
• After session (Analysis)
• Family & team perceptions
• Integration
• Priorities & needs
• Resources
• Recommendations
• Assessment Report
• Eligibility
Key Characteristics of Play Session

Takes ~ 60-90 minutes

Can occur in more than 1 session or at more
than 1 sites




Play facilitator integrates
developmentally appropriate
activities to see skills in domains

Observers look for the development
guidelines they wish to see

Child should interact with family
members, a peer, and the facilitator

Parents are asked if child’s behavior
during assessment was accurate
and if there are any skills or
behaviors the child normally has
Play facilitator & parent engage child in different
interactions and events with any toys/materials
Observe what child is able to do and what kind of
behavior they exhibit
Can sometimes have a video recording
Need & Development for Test





TPBA is an alternative to traditional, norm-referenced or standardized tests
 Non-biased to a child’s background, culture/language, or familiarity
Functional & dynamic process customizable for different children
Results with quantitative AND qualitative as opposed to only statistics and
percentiles
Not only measures what has been learned, but what CAN be learned
Authentic, naturalistic, and motivating assessment for the child, producing a
more accurate picture across all domains
Psychometric Properties
 *All yielded excellent results with 2+  Test-retest reliability
studies
 Study yielded significant results
 Interrater reliability
 Construct validity
 Study that looked at amount of
 Interdependent relationships
training (in hours)
within & across domains
 0.80-1 – excellent results
 Criterion validity
 TPBA-2 was compared to
traditional, standardized
assessments
 Results were just as accurate
Test Costs
$54.95
$54.95
$39.95
For 5 packs (50
sheets each)
$229.95
(CD-ROM)
Example of Test Items
http://youtu.be/FCqN3-8_2_w
Scoring: Observation Guidelines
Scoring: Age Table
•
•
•
•
•
•
Scoring: Observation Summary
Percent Delay:
If age level < chronological age:
1- (age level/CA) = ___% delay
If age level > chronological age:
(age level/CA)-1 = ____ %
above
Scoring Analysis
Soon after observation,
review:
 Assessment
questions
 Parent perceptions
 Team perceptions
 Summary of skills and
contexts for highest
skills
*A unique property of TPBA-2 is that it not only tells you
what a child is doing but how the child acquired the skills
and how the child is using the skills (updated 6/12)
How does the system link assessment with intervention?

Findings from the TPBA-2 assessment are directly
incorporated into the TPBI2 intervention process. The
intervention team closely reviews findings from TPBA2
and uses these observations as a guide when choosing
TPBI2 interventions that address specific areas of
concern.

The TPBI-2 provides a “planner" of play materials and
suggested opportunities, as well as intervention
guidelines, to aid in development of individualized
programs for children who need extra assistance
Development of Program and
Intervention Plans

Identification and placement

IFSP/IEP development

Priorities for intervention

Specific developmental objectives

Intervention planning within routines and contexts of
individual family

Resource problem-solving
Area of Occupation Addressed

Play participation & exploration: Natural processes such as play result in less
inhibited interactions, and consequently higher levels of communication, more
exploration, and increased attention and problem-solving

ADLs

Swallowing/eating
 Feeding

Education participation

Social participation with family and peers
Setting

Assessment is conducted in the home or a play
environment such as a playroom, playground, classroom,
or child care setting

Natural processes such as play result in less inhibited
interactions, and consequently higher levels of
communication, more exploration, and increased attention
and problem-solving

Non-directive, informal, synchronous interactions, rather
than question-and-answer formats result in increased
initiations and communication on the part of the child
Assessment Approach

Arena

Convergent assessment model

Caregiver observations

Professional observations

Additional testing if needed

Judgment based

Ecological (natural play environment)

Top down
 Assessment initially looks at all 4 domains at once
 Then, once child’s strengths and weaknesses are identified,
focus on more specific components
Frame of Reference: Developmental

Children normally develop in a sequential way

Gains in structure  function  development

Physical, sensory, perceptual, cognitive, social, and
emotional are all interconnected and affect the whole
child

Assessment process & intervention involves goals that
are child-centered and focus on occupations meaningful
to promote optimal participation
Measurement Concerns

Subjective

Time consuming to analyze

Multiple people analyzing


Could be a good thing if someone catches your mistake
Could be a bad thing if results aren’t consistent with each
other
References
Asher, I.E. (Ed.). (2007). Asher’s Occupational Therapy Assessment Tools (3rd ed.).
Bethesda, MD: AOTA Press.
Brookes Publishing Co Home. Retrieved May 28, 2014, from http://www.brookespublishing.com
Linder, T. W. (2008). Administration guide for TPBA2 & TPBI2. Baltimore: Paul H. Brookes.
Linder, T. W. (2008). Transdisciplinary play-based assessment: a functional approach to working
with young children (2nd ed.). Baltimore: Paul H. Brookes Pub. Co..
Linder, T. (2011). Transdisciplinary play-based assessment - 2 [PowerPoint slides]. Retrieved from
http://www.sased.org/pages/uploaded_files/SI%202011%20-%20Linder%20TPBA
%20no%20pics%20pwr%20pt.ppt