Diagnosis of developmental disability: Psychometrics, behaviour, and etiology

Journal/Book: Behav Change. 1997; 14: 32 Jeays St, Bowen Hills Qld 4006, Australia. Australian Acad Press. 60-72.

Abstract: Diagnosis of developmental disability lacks precision, partly because of differences in definitions of the concept, but largely because of problems specific to the use of psychometric measures with children who have a developmental disability. These problems arise from inadequate evidence of reliability for psychometric measures at extremes of the normal distribution, from lack of comparability between different tests and between different editions of tests, and from practical considerations in the assessment of people with various disabilities. Adaptive behaviour assessment has been introduced to supplement intelligence testing, but lack of a clear conceptualisation of this concept and doubts about the appropriateness of United States norms for Australian children add to the difficulties of interpreting results of standardised scales. Systematic assessment of behavioural problems needs to be incorporated into diagnostic procedures. This paper argues that improvements in the accuracy of diagnosis are unlikely to come from further technical advances in psychometric assessment, and suggests that diagnosis in the future should take into account new technologies which link etiology to specific behavioural patterns to supplement existing procedures.

Note: Article Jenkinson JC, Deakin Univ, Sch Studies Diabil, 221 Burwood Highway, Burwood, Vic 3125, AUSTRALIA

Keyword(s): ADAPTIVE-BEHAVIOR; TESTS; IQ

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