Jasper Estabillo

The purpose of assessment is to integrate information to inform clinical decision-making. Adaptive and developmental behavior scales are used in assessment for childhood disorders to evaluate the child’s level of functioning across various adaptive and developmental domains. These measures may be used in conjunction with developmental history, interviews, rating scales, and clinical observations to assess the child’s abilities, make diagnostic decisions, and aid in treatment planning. This chapter reviews a number of widely used adaptive and developmental behavior scales in the assessment of childhood disorders.

Many methods in widespread use as treatments for ASD have very limited research support. Among these treatments are sensory integration therapies and DIR/Floortime. These two treatments focus on adjusting individuals with ASD to various sensory stimuli in their environments and creating enjoyable social experiences to lower rates of social isolation, respectively. Although research on these interventions is somewhat limited and often inconclusive, these treatments are still being explored as possible supplements and/or alternatives to ABA therapy.

Motor skills refer to the movement and coordination of one’s muscles and body. Gross motor skills require coordination of an individual’s arms, legs, and other large body parts for actions such as running, jumping, and throwing. Fine motor skills require coordination of smaller movements between the fingers, hands, and feet for actions such as picking up and grasping small objects. The assessment of motor skills involves the examination of motor functioning and motor development. There are a number of standardized measures available to measure motor functioning in children, 15 of which are reviewed in this chapter. This chapter also includes discussion related to the selection of an appropriate measure and childhood disorders commonly associated with motor difficulties.

Although parent-assisted social skills interventions may reduce early social challenges in preschool-aged children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), limited research has explored whether intervention gains maintain several years after treatment. This study examined the durability of PEERS® for Preschoolers, a parent-mediated social skills training program for preschool-aged children with ASD and other social challenges. Twenty-nine parents reported on child and family outcomes 1-5 years following treatment. Results demonstrated maintenance of treatment gains on measures of ASD-related social impairments including social communication, social responsiveness, social motivation, and peer engagement. Post-treatment improvements in problem behaviors and parenting stress were not maintained at long-term follow-up. Implications of these results are discussed.