The development of a checklist of child characteristics for assessment purposes

Until recently, pupils in The Netherlands with a developmental perspective of up to 24 months and with additional disabilities rarely made use of the educational facilities available. As a result of a new law passed in 2002, an increasing number of pupils with profound and multiple learning difficulties (PMLD) will attend school. Given the heterogeneity of this group of pupils, an appropriate method of assessment is needed to chart the abilities that these pupils have and to allow a suitable educational programme to be developed on the basis of the results obtained. As the existing instruments are not generally very satisfactory, a new instrument has been developed. This is a checklist that has been subjected to reliability trials and factor analysis after formulation of suitable items. The results indicate that it is a reliable checklist, with factors that can be interpreted accurately in terms of development perspectives (functions, activities and participation).