Title of Assessment
Hawaii Early Learning Profile (HELP)
Author(s)
Stephanie Parks with help from Marie Celeste, Lisa A. Dannemiller, Gillian M. Donaldson, and Robin E. Gold
Year of Publication/Publisher
0-3 y/o= 2006
3-6 y/o= 2010
VORT Corporation
Identify Type of Assessment
non-standardized
observation-based
criterion-referenced
Cost (identify source) & How to Access Assessment (include link if possible)
HELP: 0-3 years – Shine Early Learning
$164.50 for "essential set"
HELP: 3-6 years (2nd Ed.) Extends beyond HELP 0-3 – Shine Early Learning
$189.50 for "essential set"
Population (who it is appropriate for [age, diagnosis, etc.])
Birth to 3 y/o OR 3-6 y/o
all children in early intervention services for 0-3
autism
ID/D
sensory processing challenges
all children
Appropriate Settings (potential practice settings appropriate to administer assessment in)
school-based
home health
outpatient OT
Inpatient OT
Purpose of Assessment & Function(s)/Area(s) Assessed
The HELP is used in many settings to assess a child's needs, track growth, progress, and development, and work with caregivers and healthcare providers to determine the next steps. This is curriculum-based. This assessment targets 6 main areas:
regulatory/sensory organization
cognitive language
gross-motor
fine-motor
social-emotional
self-help
The 0-3 includes 685 developmental skills
The 3-6 involves 585 developmental skills
This assessment yields developmental age levels (DALs) for each skill
Administration (time to administer, group/individual, if there are subtests, can they be completed individually, are there specific instructions to ensure standardization, etc.)
Time will vary depending on the number of areas getting rated: full length can be 45-90 minutes, but partial can be 15-20 minutes
administration is done by observation of the student, parent interview, and playing with the child
User Qualifications
A licensed professional with training
specialized in pediatrics
specialized in early intervention
Materials Required
instruction manual
writing utensil
scoring sheet
Scoring Procedure (how is assessment scored and what does score indicate)
Children assessed by the HELP assessment use the non-standardized observations to approximate an age-based level of development that the individual is at. These are determined by receiving credit for patterns and strands in each assessment area. The regulatory/sensory organization area is further split into three groups 1) typical, 2) over-reactive, and 3) under-reactive.
Psychometrics/Standardization (norms, reliability/validity studies)
correlation of .97 between HELP, Gesell, and Bayley assessments in developmental ages
correlation of .74 and .62 between HELP, Gesell, and Bayley in developmental quotients
Strengths & Weaknesses of Assessment
strengths
Can be used for a wide variety of disabilities and diagnoses
Good psychometrics
weaknesses
Observations of the same skill may vary in scoring due to administers interpreting differently
Can be lengthy to administer fully
References
Li, Z., Gooden, C., & Toland, M. D. (2019). Reliability and Validity Evidence for the Hawaii Early Learning Profile, Birth-3 Years. Journal of Early Intervention, 41(1), 62-83. https://doi.org/10.1177/1053815118810235
Tslat. (n.d.-b). Hawaii early learning profile. TSLAT. https://www.txautism.net/evaluations/hawaii-early-learning-profile
VORT Corporation. (2006). Inside HELP: 0-3, Administration and reference manual. Palo Alto, CA: VORT Corporation.