Valid and reliable early screening tools are vital when determining interventions for children who are experiencing developmental delays (LaForte, 2014). An example of a frequently used tool to assess a child's development level is the Battelle Developmental Inventory (BDI-2).The BDI-2 is a standardised assessment used to measure the development of children from 0- 7 years and 11 months, costing $1,282 per complete kit (Newborg et. al. 2005).The BDI-2 is a standardised assessment that has strong clinical utility with consistent validity and reliability (Newborg et.al. 2005).

In 2004, the Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act (IDEA) recognised potential delay areas as being cognitive, social & emotional, motor, speech …show more content…
The potential areas of delay within children have been identified as cognitive, social & emotional, motor, speech, language and adaptive skills. The BDI-2 utilises the involvement of the child for a majority of the screening in comparison to the BSITD-3 and ASQ which involve the parents/caregiver primarily for the assessment. The demographical information for the child being examined should be represented in the chosen screening tool. For example, the BDI-2 is able to screen children from a much broader age range than that of the BSITD-3 and the ASQ. The validity and reliability of each screening test also needs to meet the needs of the child, the BDI-2 and the ASQ have only been proven reliable and valid for those living in the USA. The BSITD-3 has been standardised for use in more than one country including the US and the UK. The BDI-2, BSITD-3 and ASQ have been reviewed to have adequate psychometric properties and each has developed over time using expert reviews and critiques. For clinical use within a community group, the BSITD-3 should be highly considered due to its universal standardisation as well as the vast range of developmental disabilities it tests for. The BDI-2 despite not possessing a universal standardisation reliability like the BSITD-3, has the advantage of a broader age range which is more suitable for a community group. Furthermore, studies show that the BDI-2 is effective in planning interventions for early childhood curricula (Newborg et. al., 1984) in comparison the BSITD-3 which has limited evidence for usage in the aid of intervention planning (Bayley,