Developmental Delay Assessment Tools

Assessment Tools

We are committed to providing the most accurate, standardized, and scientific diagnoses. To achieve this, we employ multiple internationally recognized assessment tools, diagnostic manuals, and instruments to deliver gold-standard diagnoses.

We aim to avoid mislabeling children with autism or other conditions. For instance, within the spectrum of autism disorders, conditions like classic autism and Asperger’s syndrome, as well as delays in receptive and expressive abilities, or a child’s lack of social interest and stubbornness, are often confused, leading to diagnostic errors. Accurate and clear diagnoses, for various reasons, are crucial to ensure children receive appropriate special services and additional support, which significantly aids their integration into mainstream education in the future.

The diagnostic criteria and systems we use are also internationally accredited at the highest level. Our diagnoses are supported by a multidisciplinary team, including psychiatrists, pediatricians, and clinical psychologists, along with neurofeedback techniques to refine the understanding of the condition. This combination of subjective clinical judgment, standardized assessments, and scientific instruments greatly enhances the quality of our diagnoses.

 
Developmental Delay Assessment Tools

Developmental Delay Assessment Tools

Developmental Delay Assessment Tools

Bayley(BSID)

 Bayley Scales of Infant and Toddler Development

Developmental Delay Assessment Tools

The Bayley Scales of Infant Development (BSID), developed by American psychologist Nancy Bayley through decades of research, incorporate the strengths of various scales, such as the Gesell scales. It is a comprehensive tool for assessing infant and toddler development, with high reliability and validity. Many countries in Europe, America, Asia, and Africa have adopted or revised their own BSID norms, making it an internationally recognized developmental scale for infants and toddlers.

Applicable Age: 1 month to 42 months

Contents:

Cognitive Skills ( Adaptive behavior,
language, and Exploratory activities),
Motor Skills (Gross motor & fine motor),
Verbal Expression, Verbal
Comprehension, Behavioural and
emotional skills

Features and Limitations

Features and Limitations:
The testing process is lengthy and is often used for diagnosing and assessing developmental delays in high-risk children.

Developmental Delay Assessment Tools

Hong Kong Comprehensive Assessment Scale for Preschool Children

HKCAS-P TEST

For the past 30 years, local pediatricians and psychologists in Hong Kong have relied on assessment tools developed abroad for evaluating children’s development. However, due to significant cultural differences between the learning environments of children in Hong Kong and those abroad, these foreign-developed tools may not accurately measure the true developmental status of local children…

Applicable Age: 3 years 4 months to

6 years 3 months

Contents:

 Cognition, Language, Social Cognition,
Visual Perception, Fine Motor Skills,
Gross Motor Skills, Early Literacy & Numeracy

Features and Limitations

Features and Limitations:
Introduced by the Department of Health specifcally for local children but is somewhat simplistic and spans a wide age range

Autism Spectrum Disorder Diagnostic Tools

Developmental Delay Assessment Tools

Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule, Second Edition

ADOS-2

Applicable Age: Children aged 12 months and older to adults

Contents:

The Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule, Second Edition (ADOS-2) is an assessment tool used for diagnosing and differentiating autism. Professional evaluators observe the child’s behavior in  standardized activity settings. The assessment involves using dozens of tools and different modules, taking 1-1.5 hours to complete. ADOS-2 and ADI-R are considered gold standards for diagnosing autism in many European and Western countries and are widely used globally.

Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule-Second Edition (ADOS-2) Overview:
Authors: Catherine Lord, Ph.D.; Michael Rutter, M.D.
Testing Age Range: 12 months to adulthood
Testing Duration: 1-1.5 hours
Format: Standardized behavioral observation and coding
Scoring: The toddler module provides a series of focus areas reflecting the degree of autism-related behaviors. Modules 1-4 provide cutoff scores for autism and autism spectrum classification. Modules 1-3 also provide comparison scores indicating the level of autism spectrum-related symptoms compared to age-matched children with similar language skills.

Developmental Delay Assessment Tools

Social Communication Questionnaire

SCQ

Applicable Age: Children with a mental age over 2 years 

Contents:

The Social Communication Questionnaire(SCQ) provides a quick and straightforward method for screening young children for autism spectrum disorders. This questionnaire consists of 40 yes-or-no questions that parents need to answer. By completing these questions, it is possible to screen for autism spectrum disorders in children who have a chronological age of over 4 years and a mental age of over 2 years.

Social Communication Questionnaire (SCQ)
The Social Communication Questionnaire is a widely used screening tool in autism spectrum disorder research. It is designed as a questionnaire version of the Autism Diagnostic Interview-Revised (ADI-R), which is the gold standard widely used in autism research and clinical practice. Healthcare professionals can assess children’s “lifetime” features (used to support diagnosis) or “current” features (used to support assessment of current difficulties). Like most screening tools, it primarily targets children who are referred for clinical treatment due to concerns about autism spectrum disorder or those already diagnosed with autism.

Developmental Delay Assessment Tools

Modified Checklist for Autism in Toddlers, Revised

M-CHAT-R/F

Applicable Age: 16-30 months

Contents:

The M-CHAT-R/F is a screening tool recommended by the American Academy of Pediatrics for assessing autism risk in preschool children starting from 16 months of age, as mentioned in its literature in 2019. This tool involves 20 questions about your child’s behavior. The M-CHAT-R/F results will indicate whether further evaluation is needed and guide discussions with a pediatrician about the next steps in management.

​ADHD Assessment Tool (Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder)

Developmental Delay Assessment Tools

Strength and weakness of Attention-Deficit/ Hyperactivity Disorder Symptoms and Normal Behaviour Scale (SWAN)

Applicable Age: It is a validated screening for ADHD in children aged 4 and above 

Contents:

The SWAN is an internationally recognized and medically supported tool for screening Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). The assessment includes 18 relevant characteristics to identify ADHD and its subtypes:

1.ADHD-Inattentive Type

2.ADHD-Hyperactive/Impulsive Type

3.Combined Type (Inattentive and Hyperactive/Impulsive)

Diagnostic Tool for Childhood Emotional and Mental Disorders

Developmental Delay Assessment Tools

The American Psychiatric Association's Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders; DSM

Contents:

Pediatricians and psychiatrists use the DSM, published by the American Psychiatric Association, as the diagnostic standard for various mental disorders. Mental disorders often do not fit neatly into the scope of a single disease. The DSM-5 provides clear classifications for specific disorders, acknowledging that some symptoms, such as depression and anxiety, span multiple diagnostic categories and might reflect underlying vulnerabilities common to a broad range of disorders. Recognizing this complexity, the DSM-5’s reorganization aims to stimulate new clinical perspectives.

The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition (DSM-5)
DSM-5 classifies conditions under somatic symptom and related disorders. For first-time patients, physical symptoms are addressed first, and after establishing a relationship, the patient’s psychological aspects are explored in detail. Treatment for somatic symptom and related disorders includes antidepressant medications and psychotherapy to improve treatment effectiveness.

Dyslexia Assessment Tools

Developmental Delay Assessment Tools

The Hong Kong Dyslexia Early Screening Scale(HKDESS)

Applicable Age: Preschool children aged 4 years 3 months (K2 class or above) to 6 years 5 months

Contents:

The Hong Kong Dyslexia Early Screening Scale is a locally developed tool designed to provide a comprehensive assessment for preschool children at risk of dyslexia. It aims to identify strengths and weaknesses in literacy skills and assess the risk of dyslexia as children enters primary school.

Developmental Delay Assessment Tools

The Hong Kong Test of Specific Learning Difficulties in Reading and Writing for Primary School Students – 3rd Edition

Applicable Age: Lower Primary: Suitable for Primary 1 to Primary 3 students Upper Primary: Suitable for Primary 4 to Primary 6 students

Contents:

Published in 2015, the third edition of the Hong Kong Test of Specific Learning Difficulties in Reading and Writing for Primary School Students includes several new elements for a more effective and comprehensive assessment of students’ reading and writing abilities. The updated test is divided into two parts for lower and upper primary students and includes assessment areas and test items appropriate for each group. New elements include tests on “Morphological Awareness” and “Language Comprehension,” as well as “One-Minute Passage Reading” and “Reading Comprehension” for upper primary students. The test also features “Cantonese and Mandarin Language Usage Tests” to evaluate the suitability of these languages for dictation and reading tests. Normative data is provided for all age groups, with grade-specific norms for language tests.

Developmental Delay Assessment Tools

The Hong Kong Test of Specific Learning Difficulties in Reading and Writing for Junior Secondary School Students – 3rd Edition (Junior Secondary) (HKT-JS-III)

Applicable Age: 11 years 7 months to 15 years 6 months

Contents:

The third edition of the Hong Kong Test of Specific Learning Difficulties in Reading and Writing for Junior Secondary School Students provides local norms for students aged 11 years 7 months to 15 years 6 months. This revised edition is designed to help educational and clinical psychologists thoroughly assess junior secondary students with reading and writing difficulties and identify their learning issues. New elements in this edition include three additional tests, updated data, and reanalyzed norms from the original version. An electronic scoring system CD is included to simplify scoring procedures. The test is divided into six parts: Phonological Awareness, Phonological Retrieval, Verbal Memory, Orthographic Knowledge, Morphological Awareness, and Language Comprehension.

Brainwave Assessment Tool

Developmental Delay Assessment Tools

qEEG

(Quantitative electroencephalography qEEG)

Contents:

Brainwave data is collected by quantitative EEG, which is compared with reference database. This scientific approach helps analyze various emotional disorders in children and provides personalized brain training protocols using 3D imaging technology. The biomarkers collected from QEEG had undergone tremendous research in correlating with the various emotional, neuropsychiatric conditions.  It greatly assists our medical team in conducting detailed assessments, diagnosis and treatments.

IQ Test - Intelligence Assessment Tools

Developmental Delay Assessment Tools

1.Wechsler Preschool and Primary Scale of Intelligence–Fourth Edition (WPPSI-IV) [Taiwan Version]

Contents:

These internationally standardized assessment tools help determine the overall intelligence level of children by analyzing their abilities in four key areas: verbal comprehension, perceptual reasoning, working memory, and processing speed. The assessments identify their strengths and weaknesses in these areas, enabling their identification of children with special needs (such as giftedness or intellectual limitations). This enables parents to cultivate their children’s strengths. and provide appropriate support in areas where development is weaker, helping children to reach their full potential.

Applicable Age: Children aged 2 years 6 months to 3 years 11 months

2.Wechsler Preschool and Primary Scale of Intelligence™–Fourth Edition [WPPSI-IV (HK)] [Hong Kong Version]

Applicable Age: Children aged 4 years to 6 years 11 months

3.Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children–Fourth Edition [WISC-IV (HK)] [Hong Kong Version]

Applicable Age: Children aged 6 years to 16 years 11 months