Overview
The Psychoeducational Profile, Third Edition (PEP-3; Schopler, Lansing, Reichler, & Marcus, 2005) is an individually-administered, norm-referenced instrument designed to assess skills and behaviors of children with autism and communication disabilities, identifying learning strengths, uneven development, emerging abilities, and other information useful in educational programming. It is for children whose developmental age is between 6 months to 7 years of age. The PEP-3 is a behavioral observation of task performance, plus a caregiver report. Although it is not a direct measurement of intelligence or general cognitive abilities, the PEP-3 provides helpful descriptive information concerning a child’s characteristic cognitive pattern, including solving problems, relating to environmental stimuli, and coping with transition between tasks. Six of the 10 subtests are related to broad performance across a variety of tasks, while the remaining four are concerned with adaptive behaviors demonstrated during the testing session. PEP-3 information is particularly valuable when a child is unable to respond to traditional formal cognitive measures. The test developer also notes the utility of the PEP-3 for planning individualized education programs (IEPs).
Summary
Age: 6 months to 7 years
Time to Administer: 45-90 minutes
Method of Administration: Individually administered norm- referenced, clinician- administered measure; two scales: (a) performance- structured play with child, and (b) parent/caregiver scale
Performance subtests yields subtest scores, developmental age scores, percentile ranks, develop- mental/adaptive levels (mild, moderate, severe) for six developmental areas and four areas of maladaptive behavior
Caregiver report yields ratings of skills in four areas: percentiles, developmental ages, developmental/ adaptive levels
Subscales: Composite Scores: Communication, Motor, Maladaptive Behaviors
Performance Subtests: Cognitive Verbal/ Preverbal, Expressive Language, Receptive Language, Fine-Motor, Gross-Motor, Visual-Motor Imitation, Affective Expression, Social Reciprocity, Characteristic Motor Behaviors, and Characteristic Verbal Behaviors
Caregiver Report Areas: Problem Behaviors, Personal Self-Care, Adaptive Behavior
Autism Related Research
De Giacomo et al. (2016)
Age Range: 2:2-7:3 years
Sample Size: 30
Topics Addressed:
Utility of the PEP-3 to estimate general cognitive development in ASD
Outcome:De Giacomo et al. (2016)
Findings showed significant positive correlations between IQ and developmental level (DL) of the cognitive verbal/pre-verbal, expressive language, receptive language, fine motor, gross motor, visuo-motor imitation, communication, and motor.
Conclusion: DLs from the PEP-3 seem useful as indicators of cognitive functioning in children with ASD.
Fulton & D’Entremont (2013)
Age Range: 20-75 months
Sample Size: 136
Topics Addressed:
Utility of PEP-3 for estimating cognitive and language skills in ASD
Outcome:Fulton & D’Entremont (2013)
PEP-3 cognitive and language measures were positively correlated with similar measures on the Child Development Inventory, the Merrill-Palmer Revised, and the Vineland Adaptive Behavior Scale-2. The PEP-3 sometimes provided higher or lower estimates than other measures. Significant differences were found between diagnostic groups on PEP-3 cognitive and language measures. PEP-3 cognitive scores correlated positively with scores on the Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule.
Conclusion: convergent and discriminant validity of the PEP-3, and utility of the PEP-3 for assessing cognitive and language abilities of young children with ASDs across a range of ability levels was supported. However, the PEP-3 did provide higher or lower estimates in various areas of development than other tests used in the study, underscoring the need to include multiple measures to obtain the most accurate estimate of individual abilities.
Fu, Chen, Tseng, Chiang, & Hsieh (2012)
Age Range: 2:0-7:6 years
Sample Size: 66 (internal consistency); 46 (inter- respondent reliability); 64 (convergent and divergent validity)
Topics Addressed:
Psychometric properties of PEP-3 for ASD
Outcome:Fu, Chen, Tseng, Chiang, & Hsieh (2012)
Cronbach alpha was satisfactory for the three subtests of the caregiver report (Problem Behaviors = .84;
Personal Self-Care = .85; and Adaptive Behavior= .83), suggesting sufficient internal consistency. There were no significant differences when rated by both parents (ICCs ranged from 0.66 to 0.79), indicating moderate inter-respondent reliability. Correlations between PEP-3, Vineland, and CARS measures supported convergent and divergent validity.
Conclusion: the PEP-3 caregiver report is a reliable and valid way of assessing adaptive functioning and autistic behaviors in children with ASD.
Chen et al (2011)
Age Range: 2:0-7:6 years
Sample Size: 63
Topics Addressed:
Utility of PEP-3 scores as outcome measures for showing treatment effects
Outcome:Chen et al (2011)
Responsiveness of the PEP-3 in children with ASD was analyzed in terms of raw scores, developmental ages, and percentile ranks. The results showed that composite scores and most of the subtest scores were responsive in raw scores and developmental ages but not in percentile ranks.
Conclusion: raw scores and developmental ages of the PEP-3 should be used to track change over time, and the PEP-3 can serve as an outcome measure to assess the development of communication and motor skills and the presence of maladaptive behaviors in children with ASD.