Assessing and Intervening with Children with Developmental Delays

An educational classification of developmental delay is distinct from a psychiatric diagnosis of developmental delay, although the criteria overlap. When assessing for a developmental delay, a comprehensive evaluation is recommended to determine the child’s pattern of abilities and weaknesses and identify appropriate intervention to address learning and behavioral problems. The chapter also presents a list of commonly used tests designed to assess neuropsychological processes and abilities for three- to five-year-old children. Visuospatial processing is a broad cognitive process comprising many components related to processing visual stimuli, including attending to visual input, planning motor movements, integrating motor movements and visual stimuli, and eye-tracking and scanning. Executive functioning describes the overarching skills necessary to regulate cognitive processes by focusing and shifting attention, processing sensory input, and performing intentional motor output. Sensorimotor functions are the building blocks for higher-order cognitive processing and influence the ability to acquire knowledge.