A developmental assessment is a comprehensive examination of a child`s skills, behaviors, and family situation, conducted by a highly trained professional like a licensed psychologist. This in-person examination usually includes testing the child, using a variety of professional instruments like language, intelligence and social adaptation tests, and the careful interviewing of the child's family members. The best types of developmental assessments also include observations of children in natural settings like the home, school, the playground, etc., as well as being done by a team of experts, including psychologists, pediatricians, neurologists, etc.. These comprehensive assessments should conclude with detailed treatment plans on how best to help the child and family, with clear objectives and time lines for accomplishing the needed help.

a process designed to deepen understanding of a child's competencies and resources, and of the caregiving and learning environments most likely to help a child make fullest use of his or her developmental potential, according to New Visions

Diagnostic tests and observations used to determine a child's strengths and weaknesses in evaluating his/her overall development in relation to various scales of typical development.