Assessment of Young Children

Psychological assessment is based on the notion that people have inherent abilities and characteristics that can be measured. These broad traits or abilities are partly inherited but not static, because the way they are manifest can vary according to different contexts and conditions. (Chapter 7- Foxcroft & Roodt, 2009).

The main purpose of assessing young children measure and observe the well-being of a child in terms of their physical, cognitive, social and emotional development.

I have discovered in my practical that there are many difficulties in assessing young children as they or as my participant was hyperactive and seemed to be distracted by many other things, such as drawing and playing outside. My assignment is a discussion of psychological assessment in early childhood.

1. Rational assessment of young children.

In order to assess young children, from a small infant to 6 years old, one has to observe the developmental changes in children therefore assessment plays an important role, the main purpose of assessing children is to identify any difficulties such as sensory-motor skills and verbal-cognitive skills. Assessing the development of children is critical as the developmental and growth that occurs from a young age is significant and impacts at a later stage, if assessment is not carried out at an early stage, children may have difficulties and will not reach their developmental milestones, thus rational assessment at an early age is essential. The goal of early childhood assessment within the South African context should be to “acquire information and understanding that will facilitate the child’s developmental and functional abilities within the family and community” (Shonkoff and Meisels, 2000, p.232).