Need Help With Studies?

Below you’ll find guidance on using PEDS Tools® for research, Quality Improvement and MOC Initiatives. We also house, on subsequent pages, current research on PEDS Tools®.

By PEDS Tools® we mean:

Parents’ Evaluation of Developmental Status (PEDS®) is a 10 item measure for ages birth to age 8 that elicis parents’ verbatim concerns. Concerns are then categorized into domains, (e.g., language, motor, social-emotional, etc.) to which risk levels with decision recommendations are rendered. Use of PEDS® in research studies offers both a quantitative and qualitative dimension useful for interpreting other data (e.g., how do parents describe in real-world terms symptoms of specific conditions, what do parents first notice when their child is ill or has developmental-behavioral problems, what do parents want to know from professionals, etc.).

PEDS®: Developmental Milestones (PEDS:DM® Screening Level). For studies needing a brief indicator of children’s skills in developmental-behavioral domains, the PEDS:DM® in its screening level version, consists of 6 – 8 questions that can be completed by interview, parent-self report, or via a hands-on administration. The PEDS:DM® provides cutoff scores set at the 16th percentile for each domain and also helps confirm or disconfirm parents’ concerns on PEDS®. The combination of PEDS® and the PEDS:DM® [preferably with a periodic administration of the Modified Checklist of Autism in Toddlers (M-CHAT)], provides a evidence-based approach to complying with American Academy of Pediatrics’ policy on early detection.

PEDS®: Developmental Milestones (PEDS:DM® Assessment Level) The PEDS:DM-AL® is used in outcomes/follow-up studies and in early intervention intake, i.e., when children have elevated risk and are likely to have strengths and weaknesses across developmental domains. The PEDS:DM-AL® uses the same items as the screening level version and the same variety of administration options. But the PEDS:DM-AL® presents more items at once and renders both cutoffs and age-equivalent scores. The latter scores enable more options for computing percentage of delay, for statistical analysis and for monitoring outcomes over time.

PEDS® Online offers PEDS®, the PEDS:DM® (both screening and assessment level versions) and the optional M-CHAT. The site provides automated scoring, generates referral letters, take-home parent reports, billing/procedure codes, and an exportable user-specific database for Quality Improvement, MOC and research studies.

If you are interested in reading research on PEDS Tools®, please proceed to published abstracts and discussion on PEDS Tools®.

Guidance and Information for Researchers

The publishers of PEDS® Tools donate our measures to developing nations including translations, translation assistance, and research guidance. We also donate to unfunded pilot studies throughout the world including thesis and dissertation projects.

For funded studies, we charge for use of PEDS Tools® whether via PEDS Online® or by sharing digital files of print materials to insert into research protocols. Although PEDS Tools® researchers will advise on funded projects, we encourage you to add research consulting time in your budget. We realize ours is a “Robin Hood” model for assisting researchers but this approach is necessary for aiding developing nations in their efforts at early detection and intervention.

We provide researchers, whether PEDS Tools® are donated or used in funded research studies, access to PEDS Online® and/or digital copies of our measures.

Prices for funded research range from $0.75 for per subject for use of the PEDS®+PEDS:DM® Screening level via digital files ($2.50 for their use via PEDS Online® which also includes the M-CHAT). For use of the PEDS:DM® Assessment Level with or without PEDS®, the cost is $3.00 for digital files and $4.00 (for use of the PEDS:DM® Assessment Level via PEDS Online®).

In signing the requisite license agreement, you will be asked:

  1. To be thoroughly familiar with PEDS Tools® including:
    1. completing a free trial of PEDS Online® by clicking here. Please also view the database generated (in order to consider this superior approach to data collection and scoring;
    2. to view the videos  on PEDS Tools® to ensure an understanding of how the Tools work;
    3. to view existing research on PEDS Tools®; and
    4. if still preferring to use PEDS Tools® in print, to purchase 1 print copy of the measures to be used including their manuals by clicking here. At least one print copy is necessary for understanding how the measures work. We also encourage you to obtain a copy of our new book, “Identifying and Addressing Developmental-Behavioral Problems: A Practical Guide for Medical and Non-Medical Professionals, Trainees, Researchers and Advocate.” The book covers issues with item-writing, translations, and study design.
  2. To ensure that a literacy check is offered to establish that parents are able to read and understand the questions within PEDS Tools® and/or to administer PEDS Tools® by interview. PEDS Tools®’ manuals/administration guides include an effective literacy prompt.
  3. If using PEDS® (with or without the PEDS:DM®) to eliminate results of both PEDS Tools® (or readminister PEDS Tools® by interview) if, on the PEDS® Response Form, parents only circle “yes”, “no”, or “a little” answers  and/or write only “no” or “none”, i.e., Licensee understands that the PEDS® Response Form serves as an essential literacy check.
  4. If using PEDS® and/or the PEDS:DM® (screening version) to administer all questions (16 – 18 for both).
  5. If using PEDS Tools® in print to score the measures in faithful accordance with directions provided in the tests’ manuals/administration guides.
  6. To seek support from PEDS® researchers regarding any issues with study design and scoring.
  7. If translations are needed, to use those we provide*. A list is below. PEDS Tools® translations have been developed in accordance with guidelines from the International Test Commission that include vetting with parents and colleagues. If new translations are needed, we ask that you collaborate with PEDS Tools® researchers (who can help obtain new translations and often assist with vetting).
  8. To ensure that the PEDS®/PEDS:DM® copyright notice is visible on all documents where its Forms and results are rendered (e.g., when photocopying .pdfs of print files for research protocols and surveys).
  9. To keep completed PEDS®/PEDS:DM® response forms files confidential and share them only with providers covered by your license agreement and approved according to HIPAA/FERPA requirements.
  10. To ensure that PEDS®/PEDS:DM® Forms are not posted on a public, non-password protected portion of your website(s) or distributed to any individual who is not a patient/parent, clinician or staff who are not part of your research project.
  11. To use PEDS Tools® only for the duration of the proposed study and not for routine clinical care.
  12. To share new translations and abstracts of research findings that PEDS Tools® LLC researchers can include on the website.
  13. Although researchers using PEDS Tools® in studies retain all rights to PEDS Tools® results, we ask that you respond to requests from PEDS® Tools researchers (even if in the negative) for permission to use anonymized data (meaning cleansed of personal identifiers, thus ensuring compliance with HIPAA/FERPA requirements) in order to facilitate improvements to PEDS Tools®.
  14. To pay invoices within 60 business days via a bank check written in US dollars (plus interest fees if exceeding the 60 day time frame).

If you have questions about using PEDS Tools® in research, please contact us.

If you are interested in a license agreement for use of PEDS Tools® in research project please click here.

*Translations available for PEDS® include:

  • Arabic
  • Anharic (Ethiopian)
  • Cambodian
  • Cantonese
  • Chinese Simplified (Mandarin, Cantonese, and for those from Mainland China)
  • Chinese Traditional (for those from Hong Kong, Taiwan, etc.)
  • English
  • Fijian
  • Filipino Tagalog
  • French (Canadian)
  • Galician
  • German
  • Haitian-Creole
  • Hebrew
  • Hindi
  • Hmung
  • Icelandic
  • Indonesian (Bahasa)
  • Malay
  • Polish
  • Portuguese (Brazilian/Cape Verdean)
  • Portuguese
  • Russian
  • Somali
  • Spanish
  • Swahili
  • Thai
  • Vietnamese
  • Visayan

*Translations available for the PEDS:DM® include:

  • English,
  • Spanish
  • Arabic
  • Traditional Chinese
  • Portuguese
  • French (Canadian)
  • Swahili (partial)
  • Fijian