Transdisciplinary Play-based
Assessment - 2
Toni Linder
University of Denver
tlinder@du.edu
Assessment Needs
• Need for a flexible process, responsive to
individual needs (Bagnato and Neisworth,
2004)
• Information needed for intervention is not
found in numbers and percentile scores
(Meisels and Atkins-Burnett 2000)
• Assessment needs to address interests
and intentions as well as skills (Greenspan
and Meisels, 1996; Cain and Dweck,
1995;
• Assessment and intervention need to
inform each other in an ongoing manner
(McConnell, 2000)
Problems with traditional tests
• Materials in test kits are
presented regardless of
experiences, background, or
familiarity (Neisworth & Bagnato,
2004)
Problems with traditional tests
• Advantage goes to the advantaged
and the culture of standardization
(Hanson & Lynch, 1992)
• Standardized language may present
an obstacle (Meisels, 1996)
Problems..
• Traditional tests measure
what has been learned, not
what can be learned (Butler,
1997)
Problems….
• Isolated assessment of
discrete domains, such as
“language” or “cognition,” often
yields fractional, inadequate,
misleading, or incomplete
information.
Problem: “Untestable” children
• Bagnato & Neisworth (1994) when
child is “untestable”
- 58% parent interviews
- 44% play-based assessment
- 30% observation of natural parentchild interaction
Problem Summary
• “Assessment of infants and preschoolers
remains dominated by restrictive methods and
styles that place a premium on inauthentic,
contrived developmental tasks, that are
administered by various professionals in
separate sessions using small, unmotivating
toys from boxes or test kits, staged at a table or
on the floor in an unnatural setting, observed
passively by parents, interpreted by norms
based solely on typical children, and used for
narrow purposes of classification and eligibility
determination” (Bagnato, Neisworth & Munson,
1997, p. 69).
Changes needed….
• 1) What constitutes an assessment,
• 2) What questions assessment of
young children should examine,
• 3) What methods should be used to
answer these questions,
Changes needed…
• 4) Who should be involved in gathering
assessment data,
• 5) What the outcomes of an assessment
should look like, and,
• 6) How assessment information should be
used (Eisert, & Lamorey, 1996; Meisels &
Atkins-Burnett, 2000; Meltzer & Reid,
1994).
Needed…
• Assessment needs to be
viewed as a process not just
a tool
Eight critical qualities…
• 1) useful, providing a linkage
between assessment results and
intervention goals, objectives, and
strategies;
• 2) acceptable, providing
information that is mutually
relevant to professionals and
families;
Eight critical qualities
• 3)
authentic, providing information
that describes how children function
in their natural environments;
• 4) collaborative, involving
professionals and parents in a
partnership beginning before
assessment and through intervention;
Eight critical qualities
• 7) sensitive, providing incremental
developmental sequences and
observations that can differentiate
small increments of progress;
• 8) congruent, using content,
materials, and methods that
match the developmental levels
and individual differences of
children
Benefits of TPBA - 2
•
•
•
•
Dynamic
Functional
Flexible
Sensitive to child and family
differences
Benefits of TPBA - 2
Results in quantitative and qualitative
information related to:
• Skill level
• Learning style
• Interaction patterns
• Contexts for development
• Intervention objectives and strategies
Benefits of TPBA - 2
• Natural processes such as play result
in less inhibited interactions, and
consequently higher levels of
communication, more exploration,
and increased attention and problemsolving (Meisels & Atkins-Burnett,
2002)
• Play is consistent with interests and
needs of young children
Benefits of TPBA - 2
• A convergent assessment
model
–Caregivers’ observations
–Professionals observations
–Additional testing if needed
Information from caregivers
• Developmental, social, and health
history
• Routines, values
• Current skills and behaviors
• Contexts
• Favorite toys and materials
Instruments
• Child and Family History Questionnaire
(CFHQ)
• Family Assessment of Child Functioning
(FACF)
Observations of child: interactions
• With caregivers
• With siblings
• With peers
• With adults
Benefits of TPBA - 2
• Non-directive, informal, synchronous
interactions, rather than questionand-answer formats result in
increased initiations and
communication on the part of the
child (Grisham-Brown, 2000).
• More accurate picture
TPBA - 2 Process Involves
• Observing the child’s spontaneous
behaviors
• Encouraging turn-taking through
imitation
• Responding to the child at a
developmentally appropriate level
TPBA -2 Process Involves
• Facilitating higher levels of
performance through scaffolding,
using more or less structure and
reinforcement as needed
TPBA Process Involves
• Providing opportunities for
problem-solving and creativity
• Promoting social interaction
and communication
TPBA - 2 Process Involves
• What worked during assessment?
– Interaction patterns resulting in increased
play and communication that can be
replicated throughout the day.
– Environmental modifications found to be
beneficial that can be incorporated in the
child’s natural environments.
TPBA - 2 Collaborative team
• Discipline roles
• TPBA Roles
• Parent/family roles
TPBA - 2 Overview
•
•
•
•
Obtaining Preliminary Information
Conducting the assessment
Analyzing the data
Discussing and integrating all
information
• Writing the report
• Follow-up
TPBA - 2 Content
• Sensorimotor development and
vision
• Emotional and social development
• Language and communication
development and hearing
• Cognitive development
TPBA - 2:
Sensorimotor Domain
Sub-categories
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Functions Underlying Movement
Gross Motor Ability
Arm and Hand Use
Motor Planning and Coordination
Modulation of Sensation
Motor Contributions to Self-Care Activities
Vision
TPBA - 2:
Emotional and Social Domain
Sub-categories
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Emotional Expression
Emotional Style
State and Emotional Regulation
Behavioral Regulation
Sense of Self
Emotional Themes of Play
Social Relations
TPBA - 2:
Communication Domain
Sub-categories
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Language Comprehension
Language Expression
Pragmatics
Articulation/Phonology
Voice
Fluency
Hearing
TPBA - 2
Cognitive Domain
Sub-categories
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Attention
Memory
Problem-Solving
Social Cognition
Complexity of Play
Science and Math Concepts
Emerging Literacy
Specifics of TPBA - 2
Questions for planning TPBA
What are the referral questions?
Family concerns, priorities?
What skills and behaviors do the parents report seeing at
home?
What risk and protective factors are evident from the
Child and Family History Questionnaire that may have
an impact on the TPBA, the analysis of data, or intervention
needs?
Are there other assessment questions of interest to the team?
Observations of child: Engagement
• Toys, materials:
-sensory materials
-manipulatives
-construction toys
-fine and gross motor
-art materials
-dramatic play
-books
• Routines
Theme Boxes
Doctor
Doctor’s kit
Ace bandage
Eye chart
Otoscope
Stethoscope
Doctor’s
hammer
Cookout/ Picnic
Plates/ dishes
Placemats
Table
cloth/blanket
Frying pan
Thermos/ bottle
Play watermelon Grill
Spatula
Blocks for
briquettes or
sticks for fire
Bakery
Bowl
Cake pan
Measuring
spoons
Cupcake tins
Apron
Liquid & solid
measuring
cups
Oven mitts
Veterinarian
Stuffed animals
Doctor kit
Bandages
Sack of “dog
food”
Leash
Small cage
Weighing scale
Animal bed
Medicine bottles
Rubber gloves
Thermometer
Real band aids/
box
Blood pressure
gauge
Child-Caregiver Interactions
• As parent feels comfortable
• As child needs
• Observations in play, routines,
informal interactions
• Child’s response when interacting,
not interacting, with separation
III. Problem-solving guidelines
III. A. What behaviors indicate understanding of causal
reasoning skills or problem-solving (executive
function)?
III. B. Can the child identify and plan a solution to a
problem?
III. C. How well is the child able to organize, monitor,
and evaluate progress toward a goal and make
corrections?
III. D. How quickly can the child analyze a problem
situation and respond?
III. E. How well can the child generalize information
from one situation to another?
Problem-solving Strengths
 Has causal understanding and age appropriate problem-solving
skills with
o objects
o people
o situations
o all of the above
 Emerging causal understanding and problem-solving skills with
o objects
o people
o situations
o all of the above
 Can identify age appropriate solutions to problems
 Knows there is a problem, but need assistance to identify a play
 Can organize actions toward a goal
 Can monitor and correct self at an age appropriate level
 Makes corrections with assistance
Problem-solving Concerns
 Delayed understanding of problem
 Reduced problem-solving skills
 Reduced organization skills
 Reduced ability to monitor and alter plans
Problem-solving: Ready For….
 Try alternative actions
 Organize a series of actions
 Choose strategies based on situation
 Modify attempts based on based on results
of actions
18 MO.
* knows functions of objects (12-18 mo)
* recognizes & points to body parts
* uses spatial concepts , such as “up, down” (12-18 mo)
* can place circle and square in puzzle
* carries books around while walking (12-18 mo)
* holds book open with help (12-18 mo)
* gives book to adult to read (12-18 mo)
* shows familiarity with the text upon seeing illustration (says some of words in text)
WRITING
* scribbles spontaneously (13-18 mo.)
21 MO.
* Understands and uses:
-agents (e.g., mama)
- actions (e.g., run)
- objects (e.g., cup)
- recurrence (e.g., more)
- cessation (e.g.., stop)
- disappearance (e.g., all gone) (18-20 mo.)
* matches familiar objects (e.g., picks out spoons from all silverware)
* makes collections of things that are alike in some way (puts toys with wheels together)
* knows location (e.g., “there”) (18-20 mo.)
* nests objects (relates sizes)
* puts circle, square, triangle shapes in puzzle (18 to 24 mo.)
* one-to-one correspondence with two objects
READING SKILLS
* points to a picture and asks, “What’s that?” or indicates that a label is requested (13-20 mo)
* notices print rather than just pictures, may point to labels under pictures when pictures are named
(15-20 mo)
* shows empathy for characters or situations depicted in books (16-20 mo)
* makes associations across books
WRITING SKILLS
* begins to draw vertical and horizontal lines
* continues to scribble
24 MO.
* points to & names body parts (13-24 mo)
* distinguishes living and non-living things
* have knowledge of basic-level categories, such as plants, animals, and people
* knows “more” (18-24 mo)
* compares & matches form, size, color, (18-24 mo)
READING SKILLS
* enjoys a variety of interactive books (12-24 mo)
* engages in reading behavior by verbalizing while looking at books (12-24 mo)
* performs an action shown or mentioned in a book (12-24 mo)
* sits for several minutes looking at a book (12-24 mo)
* takes books off shelf and replaces them (12-24 mo)
* may accidentally tear pages, decrease in intentional tearing (12-24 mo)
* carries books around the house (18-24 mo)
* may use book as transitional object (18-24 mo)
* recites parts of well known stories, rhymes, songs (18-24 mo)
* distinguishes print from non-print (18-24 mo)
* identifies objects in a photograph (18-24 mo.)
WRITING SKILLS
* hand dominance emerges (18-24 mo.)
* explores making marks with pencil or crayon (18-24 mo)
* imitates vertical strokes (18-24 mo.)
* imitates circular scribble (20-24 mo.)
* draws zig-zags, lines, and loops during scribbling
Facilitation Strategies
• Following the child’s lead
• Observation of spontaneous
behaviors
• Imitation of child
• Modeling new behaviors
• Turn-taking
Facilitation Strategies: Verbal
• Commenting
–Self talk
–Parallel talk
• Open-ended questions
• Wait time!!
Facilitation Strategies:
Verbal
• Imitation
• Modeling of sounds, words
gestures, signs, sentence structure
• Modeling affect
Facilitation Strategies
• Scaffolding with varying amount of
structure and reinforcement
– Gestural
– Verbal
– Physical
– Environmental
Facilitation Strategies:
Environmental Modification
•
•
•
•
•
Positioning materials
Positioning child
Modifying materials
Using assistive technology
Modifying sensory input
DISCUSSION WITH FAMILIES
• What skills does the child exhibit spontaneously, without
support?
• What skills can be elicited with scaffolding or support?
• What strategies resulted in higher levels of behavior or
performance?
• What abilities or difficulties are indicated?
• What may be contributing to the abilities or disabilities?
Analysis and Discussion
•
•
•
•
•
Soon after observation
Review assessment questions
Parent perceptions
Team perceptions
Summary of skills and contexts for highest
skills
• Translate into intervention
recommendations
DISCUSSION WITH FAMILIES
• What skills does the child exhibit spontaneously, without
support?
• What skills can be elicited with scaffolding or support?
• What strategies resulted in higher levels of behavior or
performance?
• What abilities or difficulties are indicated?
• What may be contributing to the abilities or disabilities?
DISCUSSION WITH FAMILIES
•
What follow-up is recommended if the child is not eligible for
services?
•
What are the developmental priorities for intervention if the
child is eligible for services?
•
What strategies are recommended for each priority? For
home? For school?
•
What special services or activities will best meet these
needs? (Where? By whom, with what intensity, for how
long?)
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
TEMPLATES FOR WRITING
RECOMMENDATIONS FOR
TPBA
• Think: What is he or she
doing now and what skills
or experiences is the child
ready for—and WHY?
Give specific examples for
home and/or school.
RECOMMENDATIONS
• He is currently doing…. And therefore he
is ready to …..
• OR he is ready for more….
(Vertical or horizontal)
• In order to develop….she will benefit
from…..
• Activities to encourage….include……
• Adaptation of …will allow her to…..
• Stimulation of …..using….will…..
Transdisciplinary Play-based
Assessment
Results in quantitative and qualitative
information related to:
• Skill level
• Learning style
• Interaction patterns
• Contexts for development
• Intervention objectives and strategies
Transdisciplinary Play-based
Assessment - 2
• Paul H. Brookes Publishing Co.
• 1-800-638-3775
• brookespublishing.com
• tlinder@du.edu
• 303-871-2474
TPBA Research
Summary References
Traditional Validity &
Ecobehavioral Validity
•
•
•
•
•
Content validity
Concurrent validity
Social validity
Ethnic validity
Treatment validity
Research on TPBA
• Interrater, test-retest reliability,
concurrent validity, Friedli
(1994)
• Social validity, Myers, McBride,
& Peterson (1996)
• Interrater reliability, Al-Balhan
(1998)
Research on TPBA:Interrater Reliability
Level of
Training
Child One¹
Sensorimotor
% agreement
(mild to
moderate)
Child Two²
Communication
% agreement
(moderate)
Child Three³
Emotional/
social
% agreement
(mild)
Child Four*
Cognitive
% agreement
(typical-at-risk)
All
areas
2-day training
(professionals)
State A
*N = 9
.88
N= 10
.90
N= 11
1.00
N= 10
.80
.89
2-day training
(professionals)
State B
*N = 8
.75
N= 8
1.00
N= 8
.75
N= 8
.875
.843
2- follow up
training
(professionals)
N = 23
.95
N = 23
.95
N = 23
.95
N=23
.95
.95
20 hour
training
(students)
N=9
1.00
N=9
1.00
N=9
1.00
N=9
1.00
1.00
Experts
N=4
1.00
N=4
1.00
N=4
1.00
N=4
1.00
1.00
Teams
N = 10
1.00
N = 10
1.00
N = 10
.90
N = 10
1.00
.975
Research on TPBA
• Construct validity, Linder,
Goldberg, and Goldberg,
unpublished)
• Concurrent validity (DeBruin,
2006)
• Reliability (Linder, unpublished)
Research on TPBA
• Concurrent validity (Kerr,
1998; Kelly-Vance,
Needelman,Trioa, Ryalls,
1999; Myers, McBride, &
Peterson, 1996)
Eight critical qualities…
• 5) convergent, pooling information
from various sources to be
integrated and compared;
• 6) equitable, providing for
flexibility in materials, procedures,
and assessment techniques to
meet children’s individual needs;