The assessment of basic functional skills is an important domain in the comprehensive educational assessment of young children with neurological impairments. Most children with neurological impairments have significant limitations in physical function that can impede their educational progress. For young children with physical impairments, special educators are primarily concerned with the evaluation of basic functional skills such as mobility and self-care. Educational plans for children with neurological impairments often incorporate functional activity training; thus, functional assessment can serve as an effective means for program planning and documenting progress. The purposes of this paper are to: (a) review the status of functional assessment in young children, (b) examine the conceptual issues in the selection of functional assessment measures in special education, and (c) describe functional assessment approaches developed in the field of pediatric rehabilitation.
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