1. Developmental Profile 3
Gerald Alpern, PhD

3. Purposes of the DP-3 Evaluate a child’s development in five key areas:
Physical
Adaptive Behavior
Social–Emotional
Cognitive
Communication
Gain valuable parent input about the child’s functioning.
Quickly screen children from birth through age 12 years, 11 months.
Provide intervention recommendations for each skill measured by the DP-3.

4. A Multidimensional Screening Tool
Useful for many purposes, including:
Screening for developmental problems
Responding to parental or teacher concerns
Determining areas of strength and weakness
Contributing to determination of eligibility for special education or other services (the five scales meet IDEA guidelines for assessing development delay)
Helping plan IEPs
Measuring progress over time

5. DP-3 Improvements
Norm-referenced standard scores based on a nationally representative sample
Updated item content and scale names
Extended age range
Expanded interpretation guidelines
Availability of the Parent/Caregiver Checklist

6. The DP-3 Measures Five Domains
Physical
Large- and small-muscle coordination, strength, stamina, flexibility, and sequential motor skills
Adaptive Behavior
Ability to cope independently: eat, dress, work, use technology, and take care of self and others
Social–Emotional
Interpersonal functioning, social and emotional understanding, and ability to relate to friends, relatives, and adults

7. The DP-3 Measures Five Domains (continued)
Cognitive
Intellectual abilities and skills necessary for academic achievement
Communication
Expressive and receptive communication skills, including written, spoken, and gestural language
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Administration of the DP-3 can include one, a few, or all five scales.
If all five scales are used, the General Development score can be calculated as an index of overall development.

8. Administration is Easy
Takes 20–40 minutes
For each item, the respondent indicates whether or not the child has mastered the skill in question by answering “yes” or “no”.
Two parallel formats: the Interview Form and the Parent/Caregiver Checklist
The same content but the wording is changed to fit the respondent.
The Interview Form is a one-on-one clinician administered interview of the parent/caregiver and is the preferred method of administration.
The Parent/Caregiver Checklist does not require the clinician to be present and is useful when time or resources are limited.

9. Comparing the Two Formats
Sample Interview Items
P16. Does the child stack (make a tower of) eight objects such as blocks?
S26. Does the child consider the preferences and interests of friends when planning shared play activities?
G5. Does the child imitate a physical gesture made by an adult, such as pointing?
Sample Checklist Items
P16. Does your child make a tower of eight things, such as blocks?
S26. Does your child consider what friends want to do when planning activities with friends?
G5. Does your child imitate something an adult does, such as pointing?

10. Scoring the DP-3 Hand and computer scoring available
Hand scoring is quick.
Add up the total number of “yes” responses for each scale and convert the raw scores to standard scores using tables in the manual.
Computer scoring provides:
Score calculation and description
Graphical representation of scores
Scale Pattern Analysis and Scale-by-Scale Item Analysis
Individualized intervention activities
Clinician and Parent reports
A sample computer report can be found at:

11. Types of DP-3 Scores
The DP-3 provides many types of scores and interpretation:
Norm-referenced standard scores (recommended for all DP-3 uses)
Confidence intervals
Descriptive categories
Percentile ranks
Age equivalents
Stanines

12. Strong Psychometric Characteristics
Standardized on 2,216 children ages birth through 12 years, 11 months
Relevant demographic characteristics (gender, ethnicity, region, and parent education level) closely match the U.S. Census.
Reliability:
Median internal consistency: .89 to .97
Test–retest reliability: .81 to .92

13. Strong Psychometric Characteristics (continued)
Validity highlights:
DP-3 scores correlated at expected levels with:
Vineland Adaptive Behavior Scales, Second Edition (Vineland-II; Sparrow, Cicchetti, & Balla, 2005)
Developmental Assessment of Young Children
(DAYC; Voress & Maddox, 1998)
Peabody Developmental Motor Scales, Second Edition (PDMS-2; Folio & Fewell, 2000)
Preschool Language Scale, Fourth Edition
(PLS-4; Zimmerman, Steiner, & Pond, 2005)
The DP-3 differentiates between typically developing children and those with a clinical problem.

14. Support for Intervention
Results linked to intervention activities
Suggestions for parents, teachers, or clinicians to help children in areas of difficulty
Focus on maintaining the child’s self-concept while teaching new skills
Example:
P16. Encourage continued skill with stacking objects:
Once the child has mastered the skill of stacking three objects, it will generally increase to include additional objects. While he or she is playing happily, bring over some blocks and make a tower of at least one or two additional objects, encouraging the child to copy what you are doing. You can turn it into a game wherein you alternate copying one another.

15. For more information contact:
WPS