Comparison of Developmental Age Derived from the Transdisciplinary Play-Based Assessment and the Peabody Developmental Motor Scales-2

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to determine whether the developmental ages obtained by the Transdisciplinary Play-Based Assessment (TPBA) and the age equivalencies derived from the raw scores of the Peabody Developmental Motor Scales, 2nd edition (PDMS-2) yield similar information over time. The gross- and fine-motor portions of the TPBA and the PDMS-2 were administered to 16 participants with and without disabilities at baseline and 6 months later. At baseline, a strong significant correlation indicated concurrent validity for gross- (r = .947) and fine-motor (r = .918) domains of the tests. This strong relationship was also present 6 months later for the gross- (r = .937) and fine-motor (r = .967) domains. When analyzed separately, each of the assessments also identified changes in developmental ages of the participants in both motor domains over the 6 months. However, difference scores showing the extent of the changes determined by each of the assessments revealed only a moderate relationship for gross motor (r = .51) and were insignificant for fine-motor domains. The results suggest that in instances when the conceptual construct of a developmental age is needed, the observation judgment method of the TPBA and the score-derived method used by the PDMS-2 may be congruent. For precision in measuring a quantifiable amount of change, other features of these assessments are more valid.