DAYC-2
What Is DAYC-2?
The Developmental Assessment of Young Children, Second Edition (DAYC-2) is a standardized assessment used to evaluate developmental skills from birth through age 5.
The test is commonly used in early intervention and can help clinicians identify delays, helping children receive intervention during a critical period of growth. The DAYC-2 combines clinical observation, structured caregiver interviews, and direct assessment to provide a comprehensive look at a child’s abilities within their natural, everyday environments.
Key takeaways
- The DAYC-2 is a standardized, norm-referenced assessment for children from birth to 5 years, 11 months that evaluates development across five key domains.
- Its flexible administration combines observation, caregiver interviews, and direct assessment, helping clinicians capture a more complete picture of a child's abilities in natural environments.
- DAYC-2 results support early intervention eligibility, treatment planning, goal development, and progress monitoring, but should always be interpreted alongside clinical judgment and other assessment findings.
- Family collaboration is central to the DAYC-2 process, with caregiver input helping guide meaningful goals and supporting skill carryover in everyday routines. Some of the DAYC-2 can be administered through a secure teletherapy platform.
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Purpose of the DAYC-2
The DAYC-2 is a norm-referenced test designed to:
- Establish developmental baselines
- Identify delays across 5 major developmental domains
- Determine eligibility for early intervention and special education services
- Support treatment planning
- Document progress over time
Age range and intended population for the DAYC-2
The assessment is intended for use with children from birth through 5 years, 11 months. The DAYC-2 is commonly administered in early intervention programs, outpatient clinics, hospitals, homes, and daycare settings. It is appropriate for children with typical development, in addition to those with suspected developmental delays, intellectual disabilities, autism spectrum disorder, genetic conditions, and other diagnoses.
Who uses the DAYC-2?
The DAYC-2 is frequently administered by speech-language pathologists (SLPs), early intervention specialists, psychologists, special educators, occupational therapists, physical therapists, and other qualified professionals.
Developmental domain | What it measures | Common clinical applications |
|---|---|---|
Cognitive | Attention, problem solving, memory, reasoning, concept development | Identify learning strengths and support cognitive goal setting |
Communication | Receptive and expressive language, following directions, verbal and nonverbal communication | Diagnose language delays and guide speech-language intervention |
Social-Emotional | Emotional regulation, relationships, play skills, social interaction | Evaluate social participation and support school readiness |
Physical | Gross motor coordination, balance, fine motor skills, grasp and manipulation | Inform occupational and physical therapy evaluation and treatment |
Adaptive Behavior | Daily living skills such as feeding, dressing, grooming, and personal care | Measure functional independence and develop family-centered intervention goals |
Developmental domains measured in the DAYC-2
The assessment evaluates five major developmental domains. One advantage of using the DAYC-2 is that clinicians can choose to evaluate only specific domains of clinical concern independently, or administer all domains that contribute to a child’s overall functioning.
Cognitive development
The cognitive domain provides insight into how a child explores, learns, and understands the physical world around them. It assesses skills in the areas of attention, problem solving, concept development, memory, purposive planning, shape/concept matching, and early reasoning.
Communication skills
This domain evaluates a child’s receptive and expressive language abilities. It assesses comprehension, following directions, verbal/non-verbal communication, and syntax. Speech-language pathologists can gain key information for diagnosis and treatment planning.
Social-emotional development
The social-emotional domain measures essential skills for school readiness and successful participation in daily activities. This includes emotional regulation, interaction with others, relationship development, and engagement in play.
Physical and adaptive behavior skills
This domain includes two subscales:
- The physical domain evaluates gross motor skills such as large muscle coordination and balance, and fine motor skills such as manipulation and grasp precision.
- The adaptive behavior domain measures the child’s everyday functional skills. This includes independence with activities of daily living (ADLs) such as feeding, dressing, and personal care. Data in these domains are particularly valuable for occupational and physical therapists.
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Administration process for the DAYC-2
Observation, interview, and direct assessment
The DAYC-2 allows for a flexible administration approach. Evaluators can gather information through direct interaction with the child, naturalistic observation, and caregiver interviews.
This may lead to a more accurate representation of a child’s true abilities than formal testing alone. For example, if the assessor does not directly observe a skill during testing, the scoring criteria can be satisfied through the caregiver’s report of that skill at home.
Testing materials and time requirements for the DAYC-2
Testing materials for the DAYC-2 include the examiner’s manual, record forms, and age-appropriate toys to support tasks being presented. Administration may take approximately 30 to 60 minutes; however, this varies depending on the number of domain areas administered, the child’s age, and the child’s developmental level.
Administration in natural environments
The DAYC-2 is designed to be administered within a child’s familiar environments when possible. Clinicians are able to observe the child’s true developmental skills during daily routines and play at their home, daycare, preschool, or early intervention setting.
Teletherapy and remote assessment considerations
Some portions of the DAYC-2 can be completed remotely, including caregiver interview portions. Clinicians should refer to publisher guidance and should consider standardized validity, administration procedures, and technology requirements. Certain domains, such as physical and adaptive behavior skills, may not be administered remotely without deviating from standard protocols.
Scoring and interpretation of the DAYC-2
Raw scores and standard scores for the DAYC-2
The clinician first calculates a raw score based on the number of items successfully completed within a domain. Each raw score can then be converted into a standard score using the age-based normative data in the examiner’s manual. Standard scores compare a child’s performance with same-age peers, with a mean of 100.
Percentiles and age equivalents
The DAYC-2 also allows clinicians to calculate percentile ranks and age equivalents. Percentile ranks represent where the child’s score stands relative to a representative sample of peers. For example, a 20th percentile rank indicates the client scores equal to or higher than 20% of same-aged peers.
Age equivalents estimate the developmental age associated with the child’s performance on a specific domain within the DAYC-2. Although age equivalents can provide helpful descriptive information, they should never stand alone for eligibility determinations.
Interpreting developmental delays
The results of the DAYC-2 should be interpreted alongside clinical observations, caregiver input, developmental history, and other assessment findings.
Considering a client’s performance across domains helps clinicians identify both strengths and areas of difficulty. This can lead to more targeted interventions and individualized recommendations.
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Strengths and limitations of the DAYC-2
The DAYC-2 offers benefits such as flexible administration, coverage of a wide range of developmental areas, and several options for data collection methods.
As with all standardized assessments, however, results should be interpreted alongside clinical judgment, informal assessments, and potentially additional standardized measures. DAYC-2 results should not be used as the sole basis for diagnosis.
Using results for treatment planning for the DAYC-2
Writing developmental goals
Clinicians can use DAYC-2 findings to develop functional, measurable goals that target developmental skills. Goals should be prioritized to reflect the family’s concerns and the child’s ability to participate in daily routines.
Early intervention strategies
After identifying areas of need using the DAYC-2 results, clinicians can select early intervention strategies that naturally fit into the child’s everyday routines. Strategies often include caregiver coaching, play-based learning, identifying communication opportunities, and building adaptive skills during daily activities.
Collaborating with families and caregivers
Family involvement is key for positive therapy outcomes, particularly with the early intervention population. Clinicians can obtain valuable insight into a child’s strengths, challenges, and daily functioning by collaborating with caregivers.
It’s important to use clear, family-friendly language and avoid too much clinical jargon. Helping caregivers understand how they can support the child’s developmental growth outside of therapy sessions encourages generalization of skills.
Monitoring progress over time
Clinicians can readminister the DAYC-2 over time to monitor progress in developmental skills, guide treatment planning, and evaluate the effectiveness of intervention strategies.
The DAYC-2 is a practical, flexible assessment tool that examines several areas of developmental skills in children from birth to age 5 years, 11 months. It offers a flexible administration approach to provide a comprehensive picture of a child’s skills across everyday environments.
Data from the DAYC-2 can be used to determine eligibility for services, develop treatment goals, and monitor a client’s progress over time.
Comprehensive, organized documentation and efficient workflows help streamline the assessment process. TheraPlatform is a comprehensive EHR, practice management, and teletherapy software designed specifically for therapists.
How EHRs can help with documentation
Modern EHR/practice management platforms (such as TheraPlatform) can streamline documentation by providing HIPAA‑compliant, integrated systems for note entry, storage, scheduling, and billing.
They allow therapists to:
- Use and customize templates (e.g., SOAP, DAP, and others) or build their own to streamline note writing and ensure consistency.
- Link notes to treatment plans, goals, and session history so client progress is easily tracked over time.
- Utilize e-fax and secure document sharing via client portal to safely exchange information with clients or other providers while maintaining confidentiality.
- Leverage dictation and telehealth transcription, which can automatically convert sessions into therapy or assessment notes, saving time and reducing manual entry.
- Take advantage of AI features that streamline documentation by automatically populating intake form data into assessment templates and generating complete therapy and assessment notes from the information you provide, all with a single click.
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Meanwhile, AI‑assisted note tools are emerging which can further help clinicians by:
- Automatically transcribing session audio (if permitted) and highlighting key moments (e.g. emotional shifts, major themes).
- Suggesting draft notes or filling in objective or assessment sections based on observed data, freeing up clinicians’ time.
- Supporting consistency and reducing missing components in notes, which helps from clinical, legal, and insurance perspectives.
Together, structured SOAP‑type notes, good EHR platforms, and smart AI support tools can support more efficient workflows, consistent documentation, and accountability.
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References
D’Arcy, E., Wallace, K., Chamberlain, A., Evans, K., Milbourn, B., Bölte, S., ... & Girdler, S. (2022). Content validation of common measures of functioning for young children against the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health and Code and Core Sets relevant to neurodevelopmental conditions. Autism, 26(4), 928-939. https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/13623613211036809
Feldhacker, D. R., Leach, M., Brosius, C., Bosch, S., Adams, B., & Bell, J. (2026). The Feasibility of OT-Based Developmental Screening within a Head Start Program. Journal of Occupational Therapy, Schools, & Early Intervention, 1-20. https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/19411243.2026.2629371
Ke, J. C., Rezvan, P. H., Vanderbilt, D., Mirzaian, C. B., Deavenport-Saman, A., & Smith, B. A. (2024). Similar early intervention referral rates following in-person administration of the bayley scales of infant and toddler development, versus telehealth administration of the developmental assessment in young children, in the high-risk infant population. Early human development, 190, 105971. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0378378224000409
FAQs about the DAYC-2
What age range does the DAYC-2 cover?
The DAYC-2 is designed to be used with children from birth through 5 years, 11 months.
How long does the DAYC-2 take?
Administration time varies depending on the child’s age, developmental level, and which of the 5 domains are administered. However, the DAYC-2 typically takes 30 to 60 minutes to administer.
What settings can the DAYC-2 be used in?
The DAYC-2 is appropriate to be used across a range of settings, including schools, preschools, outpatient clinics, hospitals, early intervention programs, daycares, and the child’s home.
