Our knowledge of the cognitive and social-emotional functioning of
developmentally disabled infants and preschoolers derives, in large
part, from our assessment of such children. This book has been developed
to familiarize readers with the characteristics of developmentally
disabled children, and to introduce to readers aspects of measurement
that are of relevance to the assessment of atypical infants and
preschoolers. The book has been developed with clinicians and
prospective clinicians in mind. These are individuals who are committed
to the care and education of developmentally disabled infants and
preschoolers and the families of those children. The book has thus been
written to provide support for the use of assessment data in planning
early interven- tion programs. Of special note in the development of
this edited book is that it is divided into four major parts with
interrelated chapters in each part. The authors of chapters in Parts II
and III had access to the chapters in Part I before writing their
chapters. The summary chap- ters found in Part IV were similarly written
by authors having access to all chapters in Parts I-III. This approach
to the development of an edited book was chosen as a way of ensuring an
integration of major concepts throughout the book. This process is also
a reflection of our belief that assessment is an interdisciplinary
process, involving the syn- thesis of a number of diverse interests.