Essentials of Assessing Infants, Toddlers, and Preschoolers

A practitioner-oriented guide to the most important assessments and evaluation techniques for children ages 0-5

Many assessment professionals leave their graduate education programs without any formal training in assessing infants and young children. Although there are assessment textbooks covering subsets of this age range, Essentials of Assessing Infants, Toddlers, and Pre-Schoolers is uniquely designed for busy practitioners, and it covers the full range of assessments for 0-5 years old.

With medical advances and new treatments, there is a higher prevalence of children with complex medical and psychological needs. Additionally, changing educational policies often affect assessment practices. Assessment professionals must have current information to effectively assess young children and assist in planning interventions. As with all volumes in the Essentials of Psychological Assessment series, this book consists of concise chapters featuring callout boxes highlighting key concepts, easy-to-learn bullet points, and extensive illustrative material, as well as test questions that help you gauge and reinforce your grasp of the information covered.

• Understand the issues unique to assessing children aged 0-5 years
• Get expert advice on assessing children with extremely early preterm birth, genetic conditions, and other unique situations
• Consider the future directions in the assessment of infants, toddlers, and preschoolers
• Quickly and easily locate pertinent information and access resources and tools to aid in performing professional duties

This straightforward manual includes thorough coverage on how assessment results guide effective interventions. Essentials of Assessing Infants, Toddlers, and Pre-Schoolers is a valuable addition to the libraries of developmental practitioners, school and clinical psychologists, pediatricians, speech-language pathologists, and others responsible for the assessment of very young children.

BRITTANY A. DALE, PH.D., HSPP, is an Associate Professor of Special Education ― Autism at Ball State University. She is a licensed psychologist and school psychologist who specializes in the identification and assessment of neurodevelopmental disorders such as attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, autism spectrum disorder, and learning disabilities. Dr. Dale serves as the Clinical Supervisor in the Center for Autism Spectrum Disorders where local families can obtain diagnostic evaluations. Additionally, she is developing an Educational Advocacy Program to provide parent training in special education advocacy. Her research focuses on how special populations perform on various assessments used in psychoeducational evaluations.

JOSEPH R. ENGLER, PH.D., is a Professor of School Psychology and Associate Dean in the School of Education at Gonzaga University in Spokane, Washington. Dr. Engler received his B.A. from Minot State University in Minot, North Dakota and his Ph.D. from the University of South Dakota in Vermillion, South Dakota. Dr. Engler is a nationally certified school psychologist and has practiced throughout the United States. He has held professional association positions at the state and national level. His scholarly pursuits involve preschool assessment, SLD identification, and the role of parent involvement in education. He is a co-author on Essentials of Bayley-4 Assessment.

VINCENT C. ALFONSO, PH.D., is Dean of the College for Education and Engaged Learning at Montclair State University. This past August Dr. Alfonso began his term as president of the Trainers of School Psychologists. Dr. Alfonso is Fellow of Divisions 16, 5, and 43 of the American Psychological Association and Fellow of the Association for Psychological Science. In May 2021, Dr. Alfonso received the faculty award for Professional Contributions from Gonzaga University. Dr. Alfonso has published scholarly work for more than 30 years. His major areas of scholarly work are developmental disabilities including specific learning disabilities, early childhood assessment and intervention, and applied psychometrics. Two Wiley co-authored publications include the 2022 Essentials of Bayley-4 Assessment and soon-to-be published Essentials of Assessing Infants, Toddlers, and Preschoolers.