The Capute Scales

How can clinicians better diagnose developmental delays in young children?

The Capute Scales help differentiate between communicative and cognitive disorders. They are designed to help clinicians determine the presence of atypical development in two streams of cognitive development: visual-motor functioning and expressive and receptive language. The language battery of the test—CLAMS (Clinical Linguistic & Auditory Milestone Scale)—relies almost exclusively on parental history in the first 18 months of life and then on a combination of parental history and clinical observation. The visual-motor problem-solving battery—CAT (Cognitive Adaptive Test)—requires direct observation of a child performing specific test items during the assessment.

CLAMS was originally developed to provide pediatricians with a scale of linguistic and auditory milestones that can be rapidly applied within the constraints of a busy practice. CAT provides clinicians a means of distinguishing isolated language delays or communication disorders from more global cognitive impairments.

The Capute Scales were developed by Dr. Arnold J. Capute, the founding father of neurodevelopmental pediatrics, and have been tested and refined at the Kennedy Krieger Institute for more than 30 years.

Benefits

This standardized instrument will assist clinicians in:

• making developmental diagnoses
• counseling families
• guiding them to appropriate intervention services

Developers

• Pasquale J. Accardo M.D.
• The Late Arnold J. Capute M.D. M.P.H.