For a comprehensive picture of a child's development, specialists and educators follow up on a number of important areas. Such a comprehensive view helps professionals and parents better understand a child's individual progress in different directions. Development areas under assessment:
- Motor co-ordination (large and small motor-skills) – includes both general physical mobility, co-ordination and balance, as well as precise finger and hand actions required in daily pursuits and creative activities.
- The of cognitive ability – describes a child's thinking, perception and memory. This area includes the ability to process information, focus attention and find solutions to different tasks.
- Speech and language – includes the ability of a child to understand what others say and the ability to use language to communicate, shape sentences and express their needs.
- Adaptive behaviour – describes how independently and successfully a child is able to act in a daily environment and adapt to different domestic situations using their knowledge and skills.
- Oppositionally challenging and dissociative behaviour – includes a child's ability to integrate into society, understand certain boundaries and collaborate with others in joint activities.
- Attention deficit and hyperactivity (ADHD) - describes a child's ability to hold attention and manage their actions, as well as overall energy levels during training or play.
- Anxiety, fear and depression - includes a child's inner sense of safety and emotional comfort in different situations and encounters with those around them.
- Emotional flexibility - describes a child's ability to adapt to changes in their daily rhythm, cope with minor setbacks and successfully switch from one activity to another.
- Communication skills - include how a child connects with those around them, how gestures and mimics are used, and how they engage in communication with each other.
- Mathematics initial skills - includes the first understanding of numbers, quantities, shapes and sizes that help you get to know the world around you.
- Initial reading skills – describes the interest in sounds, letters and symbols that form the basis for further learning of reading comprehension.
- The of initial writing skills – includes understanding that it is possible to convey a message with signs and symbols. This describes the readiness to create first lines or drawings that later translate into literacy.
This classification of development areas is aligned with the International Classification of Statistical diseases and Health problems (ICC-10 and ICC-11).