A validation study of Transdisciplinary Play-Based Assessment-Revised with the Battelle Developmental Inventory-2

The re-authorization of IDEA (2004) emphasizes the need for children with, or at risk for, developmental delays to have a multidisciplinary assessment to determine if they are eligible for Part B services. Transdisciplinary Play-Based Assessment-Revised (TPBA-R) is an authentic alternative form of assessment. This study was conducted in order to determine if TPBA-R demonstrated a significant association between categories of eligibility and non-eligibility for Part B services as compared to the Battelle Developmental Inventory-2 (BDI-2). The study also examined the social validity of TPBA-R and the BDI-2 as perceived by both primary caregivers and assessment team members.; The sample consisted of 45 children from 3-5 years of age who were referred to the school district in Round Rock, Texas for developmental assessments. Team members conducting both assessments rated each child as "eligible for services" or "not eligible for services". In addition, both caregivers and professionals completed questionnaires that asked them to utilize a 5-point Likert scale to rate their perceptions of assessment process.; Results of a Chi-square test of independence showed that there was a non-significant association at a BDI-2 standard score cut-off of 70 (p = .42) with the assessments agreeing on 26 of the cases, and a non-significant association at a BDI-2 standard score cut-off of 75 (p = .13) with the assessments agreeing on 28 of the cases. Exploratory analysis of the data revealed that elimination of "professional opinion" from TPBA-R and considering "watch" children on TPBA-R as eligible, resulted in a significant agreement of 82.2% (p < .001). Results point to a need for further consideration of the role of professional opinion, a "watch" category, and the role of a team in assessment.; Caregiver responses to statements about the social validity of the assessments were significantly higher for TPBA-R than they were with the BDI-2. Team member responses to statements about the social validity of the assessments were not statistically compared, but were also higher for TPBA-R than they were with the BDI-2. Therefore, the study demonstrates a need to further investigate social validity in combination with the concurrent validity of TPBA-R.