Variability in adaptive behavior in children with developmental delay

Although diagnosticians have become increasingly sensitized to the importance of assessing adaptive behavior in persons with intellectual delay, few empirical data have been available with respect to the relationship between these two dimensions of development in referred clinical populations. Subjects in this study were 117 children aged 9 to 111 months who had significantly intellectual delay. All subjects were administered the Developmental Profile II (DPII), a parent-report measure of functional and adaptive skills. Seventy-nine percent of the children with mild intellectual delay obtained Self-Help age scores on the DPII and 74.2% Social Age scores that were within broad chronological age expectations. A surprising percentage of children with moderate and severe intellectual delays also obtained adaptive age scores at this level.