Hawaii Early Learning Profile (HELP)

Author(s): Instrument: Setsu Furuno, PhD; Katherina A. O'Reilly, PT, MPH; Carol M. Hosaka, MA; Takayo T. Inatsuka, OTR; Toney A. Allman, MA; and Barbara Zeisloft, MS-CCC Manual: Stephanie Parks, MA

Year of Publication:  2006

Publisher: Vort Corporation

Identify Type of Assessment: Non-standardized scale of developmental skills, Criterion-referenced

Cost: $59.95 for administration and manual, $3.25 for each HELP strand booklet

Population: Children from birth-3 who are developmentally delayed, have a disability, or at developmental risk. 

Appropriate Settings: The child's daily setting such as daycare or home. 

Purpose of Assessment and Function Areas Assessed: Family centered curriculum based assessment and intervention program to screen 685 developmental skills and behaviors. 

Administration: 45-90mins. There are 685 developmental skills and behaviors divided into 6 areas of function. (1) Cognitive, (2) Language, (3) Gross motor, (4) fine motor, (5) Social-emotional, (6) Self-Help, regulatory and sensory organization has been added. It begins with a warm-up period, structured play, and then snack time. It is scored with present (+), not present (-), emerging (+), or atypical or dysfunctional (A). This is determined by observation or by an interview with the parent or caregiver. Different colored pencils are used for testing to provide a visual display of child's functional levels and progress in each developmental area. Only developmentally appropriate items are administered. 

User Qualifications: This must be administered by an educator, healthcare professional, or other practitioner who works with children. 

Materials Required: Administration and reference manual, chart, checklist, and activity guide, colored pencils, common objects, stimuli or play equipment.

Scoring Procedure: Calculate the number of "yes" responses for each subdomain and domain. Use the scaled and identify areas of strengths and weaknesses. 

Psychometrics/Standardization: Norms- HELP strands can provide approximate developmental age ranges, document which skills are absent, describe a child's behavior, and document dysfunction. HELP chart is used with HELP guide for cause of difficulty or delay. 

Reliability: Skills and behaviors were selected from growth-and-development scales and standardized tests.

Validity: Face and content validity were demonstrated by selection of items by a multidisciplinary team and from extensive review of literature and existing scales. 

Strengths:  The child is able to be observed in their natural environment which can help if the child experiences trouble adjusting to new environments. There are not many strict rules when giving this assessment which is helpful for a child who has trouble following directions or completing a standardized assessment.

Weakness: It is not standardized so it can be hard to compare results.