A new rating scale for infants and toddlers ages 2 to 36 months of age created by the authors of DIAL-3  

Parents’ Observations of Infants and Toddlers – POINT – is a new rating scale for children 2 through 36 months of age. Using the observations of a child’s parents and caregivers, POINT is designed to screen and identify infants and toddlers who have potential developmental problems and who may need further diagnostic assessments. Early identification of such children can lead to early intervention and and the provision of effective services to those who are identified as at risk.

POINT is a flexible, easy-to-administer, easy-to-use rating scale that can help you answer that age-old question for the parents of the children in your care: “How’s my baby doing?”

One of the most important benefits of a POINT screening is to confirm that most infants and toddlers are developing in an age appropriate manner and to monitor their development over time -- a fact that is reassuring to many parents and helpful to caregivers. Additionally, POINT serves as an effective means of communication between parents and caregivers, who are all interested in providing the most optimal environment for young children.



POINT is a statistically-validated rating scale for the youngest children. It was carefully researched, developed, reviewed by a panel of early childhood experts, refined, field tested, revised and nationally standardized over a six-year period. More than 1,100 infants and toddlers from 29 childcare sites across the U.S. and Mexico – and their parents and caregivers – participated in the norming of POINT. The demographics of this sample population closely mirrors the demographics of the 2000 U.S. census in all regards – geographic location, gender, age, ethnicity, and family structure.

The Spanish version of POINT is more than a simple translation – it was developed using the back-translation technique by the experts at International & Ethnic Communications of Minneapolis. Their Spanish- English translators took into consideration the linguistic characteristics among the varying dialect groups, the comparability between Spanish and English and – most importantly – the different cultural experiences and expectations that influence child development in the Hispanic community. Then the Spanish POINT was standardized on a population of Hispanic children.


The creators of POINT are Carol Mardell, Ph.D., and Dorothea Goldenberg, Ed.D. – the same team who authored DIAL, DIAL-R, and DIAL-3. Since its introduction in 1975, DIAL has become the benchmark developmental screening test used by thousands of school districts and professionals to identify children with developmental delays at the preschool ages of 3 through 6.


Carol and Dot wanted to create a screening tool for infants and toddlers that was scientifically-based on current, in-depth research, thoroughly field-tested, and normed on a truly representative population of infants and toddlers – a rating scale for the youngest children that has the same excellent technical characteristics as DIAL: validity, reliability and sample design.


When they field-tested POINT, Carol and Dot not only asked parents and caregivers to rate their children, they also asked them to rate the POINT Record Form. They used parent and caregiver feedback to refine how POINT questions are stated. The Record Form questions are written at a 3rd grade level, which means it’s easy to understand, even for parents with limited education. The Record Form takes just 15 to 20 minutes for the parent or caregiver to complete.


For the screening coordinator, POINT is easy to score, too. There’s no “rating-scale lingo” for the professional to deal with or to explain to parents. Record Forms are scored using a transparent scoring mask, so it takes just a few minutes of time to obtain POINT results. Once the numerical scores are totaled, it takes only a few seconds to determine a POINT screening result of OK or Possible Problem. Scoring is made even easier because the 40 pages of statistical norm tables have been simplified into six scoring tables. The screening coordinator has his/her choice of using three cut-off criteria based on a -1.0, -1.3 or -1.5 standard deviation giving the option of using the 15th, 10th, or 7th percentiles. There are color-coded Record Forms for six age groups from 2 to 36 months. POINT scoring tables provide scoring in 2-month increments, providing rating-scale results for 22 age levels. Reporting results to parents is easy, too. A Parent Conference Plan form is included in the POINT kit to help outline and plan this important meeting. POINT Report Card forms in both English and Spanish are also included, providing a format for informing parents of their child’s POINT screening results.


The POINT kit includes the POINT Manual, which is a comprehensive explanation of POINT, how to use it, how to score it, how to conduct parent conferences, the background on the development of POINT, and the Tables used to score POINT Record Forms. Each kit also includes a complete set of color-coded Record Forms in your choice of English or Spanish, transparent scoring masks for the Record Forms, and duplication masters of the POINT Parent/Caregiver Conference Plan form, and the POINT Report Card in both English and Spanish.


U.S. customers call Toll Free 866-534-9394. Outside the U.S. call 1-847-763-0900 or click here to order online using our secure web site.