What is the DIAL Screener for Kindergarten?

Students entering Kindergarten will be screened in the following areas - Motor, Concepts, Language, Self-Help, and Social Development.  DIAL-4 is administered in a one-to-one setting.  The children will be using consumable manipulatives and other materials.  

Below is a general description of each of the areas we will be screening.

• Motor - Gross Motor items include catching, jumping, hopping and skipping.  Fine Motor items include building with blocks, cutting, copying shapes and letters, writing, and a popular finger touching task.

• Language - Items include answering simple personal questions (name, age, and sex), articulation, naming (expressive) or identifying (receptive) objects and actions, plus phonemic awareness tasks such as rhyming and “I Spy.”

• Concepts - Items include named body parts, naming or identifying colors, rote counting, counting blocks, identifying concepts in a triad of pictures, and sorting shapes.  

• Self-Help Development - Looks at the child’s development of personal care skills related to dressing, eating, and grooming.

• Social Development - Looks at the child’s development of social skills with other children and parents, including rule compliance, sharing, self-control, and empathy.