The Merrill-Palmer-Revised Scales of Development (M-P-R; Roid & Sampers, 2004) is a play-based, norm-referenced instrument that is individually administered to evaluate cognitive, social-emotional, self-help, and fine and gross motor development in infants and children between age 1 month and 6 years, 5 months old. This test is particularly useful for children who were born preterm. The M-P-R consists of four discrete assessment batteries. Parent reports are used to assess the domains of Expressive Language, Social-Emotional Development, Social-Emotional Temperament, and Self-Help/Adaptive. Clinician-administered scales are used within the Cognitive, Gross-Motor, and Expressive Language domains. The Cognitive Battery measures general cognitive, receptive language, and fine-motor areas. It also provides supplemental scores for memory, speed of cognition, and visual-motor ability. The Gross-Motor Scale consists of general gross-motor development, unusual movements, and atypical movement patterns. Directions for the examiner are available in both English and Spanish. Three of the parent reports (Social-Emotional Developmental Scale, Temperament Scale, and the Self-Help/Adaptive Scale) are available in Spanish. Because the Expressive Language Scale measures English usage, it is not available in Spanish.
Summary
Age: Birth to 6 years 5 months
Time to Administer: 45 minutes
Method of Administration: Individually administered, norm-referenced measure of cognitive, language, motor, self-help, and social-emotional domains; based on parent/caregiver report and/or clinician direct assessment.
All components available in Spanish except Expressive Language.
Yields standard scores, percentiles, age equivalents, and criterion- referenced and change-sensitive growth scores.
Subscales: Overall Composite: Developmental Index (from Cognitive Battery)
Subscale Scores: Cognitive, Fine Motor, Infant Language/Receptive Language
Autism Related Research
Dempsey et al. (2018)
Age Range: 24-62 months
Sample Size: 180
Topics Addressed:
Evaluation of criterion and predictive validity of the M-P-R for assessing cognitive skills in preschoolers with ASD
Outcome:Dempsey et al. (2018)
Good concurrent validity was demonstrated, with a large positive correlation between the M-P-R Receptive Language domain and the PLS-4 Auditory Comprehension subscale. The Cognitive domain of the M-P-R showed a medium positive correlation with later WISC-IV scores, showing acceptable predictive validity. Cognitive strengths and weaknesses assessed using the M-P-R mirrored those described for other measures, with most children obtaining higher standard scores on the Cognitive than the Receptive Language domain. An exploratory factor analysis suggested that one factor accounted for the majority of variability in M-P-R domains, consistent with the Cattell-Horn-Carroll theory of intelligence.
Conclusion: this study provided evidence of the criterion validity of the M-P-R for assessing cognitive abilities in preschoolers with ASD. With regard to predictive validity, evidence was sufficient but individual cognition scores may be unstable, especially in very young children or those with cognitive delays.
Peters (2014)
Age Range: 40–78 months
Sample Size: 50
Topics Addressed:
Reliability and validity
Outcome:Peters (2014)
“The results suggested that the M-P-R is a tool sensitive in identifying developmental delay, but not specific in differentiating among children diagnosed with AD and other common early childhood disorders. In part, the large variability in test performance across the AD sample contributed to this diagnostic weakness.” (from abstract)