Peabody assessment
The Peabody Developmental Motor Scales (PDMS) measures one of the most important aspects of early childhood growth, which is motor development. When concerns arise about a child’s movement skills, standardized assessments like the PDMS help clinicians objectively evaluate development and determine whether intervention is needed.
Key takeaways
- The Peabody Developmental Motor Scales (PDMS) assess gross and fine motor development in children from birth through age 5, helping clinicians identify developmental delays and intervention needs.
- The PDMS-3 includes updated norms, revised administration procedures, and a new Physical Fitness subtest to better reflect current pediatric populations.
- The assessment measures six motor domains and generates standardized scores that help therapists evaluate motor performance and guide treatment planning. Download my free SMART goals template.
- PDMS results should be interpreted alongside clinical observations, caregiver interviews, developmental history, and functional performance to create individualized intervention goals. Therapists can easily manage assessments, interviews and goals with an EHR like TheraPlatform.
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Peabody Developmental Motor Scales
The Peabody Developmental Motor Scales (PDMS) is a standardized assessment designed to evaluate both gross and fine motor development in children from birth through five years of age. It provides a comprehensive picture of a child’s motor abilities by examining age-appropriate movement skills across several developmental domains.
PDMS-2 vs. PDMS-3: What's changed?
The updated PDMS-3 includes updated normative data, revised administration procedures, and expanded developmental expectations to better reflect today’s pediatric population. The PDMS-3 includes an additional physical fitness subtest.
“The addition of the supplemental Physical Fitness subtest reflects the current literature’s interest in overweight, obesity, and fitness testing of preschool children,” according to the Pearsons Assessments website.
The PDMS is administered by occupational therapists, physical therapists, early intervention providers, developmental specialists, and pediatric rehabilitation professionals. The standardized assessment measures fine motor skills, gross motor skills, visual-motor integration, functional movement, and developmental milestones.
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Peabody assessment age range and eligibility
The Peabody Developmental Motor Scales assess gross and fine motor development in children from birth through age 5 and help identify developmental delays and intervention needs.
Peabody assessments are typically used for children with concerns related to:
- Developmental delay
- Cerebral palsy
- Down syndrome
- Autism spectrum disorder
- Prematurity
- Genetic conditions
- Neuromuscular disorders
- Coordination difficulties
- Difficulty with balance or coordination
- Fine motor challenges
- Concerns with handwriting readiness or grasp development
- Delayed play skills
- Difficulties with age-appropriate motor activities
Peabody Assessment subtests explained
The PDMS includes six subtests that generate Gross Motor, Fine Motor, and Total Motor composite scores. The following subtests reflect the updated PDMS-3.
Gross Motor Subtests
- Body control: Assess a child’s ability to maintain postural control, balance, and stability while performing movements such as reaching, jumping, bending, and standing.
- Body transport: Assess a child’s ability to move independently from one place to another.
- Object control: Assess how well a child coordinates body movements while interacting with objects, such as ball skills, including throwing, catching, kicking, and bouncing a ball.
Fine Motor Subtests
- Hand manipulation: Evaluates fine motor control, dexterity, and coordinated use of the hands and fingers during activities involving objects such as writing tools.
- Eye-hand coordination: Evaluates the child’s ability to integrate visual information with coordinated hand movements, such as drawing or copying.
- Physical fitness: Measures the ability to perform activities like push-ups, sit-ups, repetitive jumps, running speed, throwing for distance, and sit-with-reach flexibility,” according to the Peabody Development Scales website.
PDMS overview
Category | Details |
|---|---|
Age range | Birth through 5 years |
Who uses it? | Occupational therapists, physical therapists, early intervention providers, developmental specialists, pediatric rehabilitation professionals |
Measures | Gross motor, fine motor, visual-motor integration, functional movement, developmental milestones |
Gross motor subtests | Body control, body transport, object control |
Fine motor subtests | Hand manipulation, Eye-hand coordination, physical fitness (PDMS-3) |
Administration time | Approximately 45–60 minutes |
Scoring | Raw scores, Standard scores, Percentile ranks, Motor quotients, Age equivalents |
Common uses | Identify developmental delays, determine therapy eligibility, guide intervention planning, establish SMART goals |
Best for | Children with developmental delays, cerebral palsy, Down syndrome, autism spectrum disorder, prematurity, neuromuscular disorders, coordination difficulties, and fine or gross motor concerns |
How the Peabody Assessment is administered
Administration typically takes approximately 45–60 minutes for the full assessment, depending on the child's age, attention, and the number of subtests administered. Each task is scored according to standardized criteria. Performance is converted into raw scores, which are then used to calculate standardized scores and composite motor quotients.
Understanding Peabody Assessment scores
- Raw scores: Raw scores represent the total number of items successfully completed within each subtest.
- Standard scores: Standard scores compare a child’s performance with children of the same age using normative data.
- Percentile ranks: “On a scale ranging from 0-100, these ranks indicate the percentage of the district standardization sample is equal to or below any particular percentile,” says literature from Pro-Ed Inc., an educational company that provides assessments.
- Motor quotients: Motor quotients summarize overall performance across gross motor, fine motor, or total motor domains and provide an overall picture of motor development.
- Age equivalents: “Derived from calculating the average normative group’s raw score at each 6- month interval,” says literature from Pro-Ed Inc.
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Interpreting results and identifying motor delays
Standardized scores help clinicians determine whether motor performance falls within expected limits or reflects mild, moderate, or significant developmental delays. Some children may demonstrate delays primarily in one area, while others experience more global motor challenges.
OTs use the PDMS during early intervention evaluations and preschool evaluations (up to five years of age) to identify motor delays and determine whether therapy services are appropriate.
The PDMS is a reliable and valid assessment tool that identifies specific motor skills requiring intervention, which allows therapists to create SMART goals tailored to each individual child.
The assessment provides comprehensive and standardized information across multiple developmental domains. However, it should be used in conjunction with clinical observations, caregiver interviews, developmental history, and functional performance.
PDMS vs. other pediatric motor assessments
Assessment | Age range | Primary focus | Best used for |
|---|---|---|---|
Peabody Developmental Motor Scales (PDMS-3) | Birth to 5 years | Gross and fine motor development | Comprehensive evaluation of early motor skills, developmental delays, and intervention planning. Provides standardized, quantitative scores with strong reliability and validity. |
Bruininks-Oseretsky Test of Motor Proficiency (BOT-2) | 4 to 21 years | Advanced gross and fine motor proficiency | Assessing motor coordination, strength, balance, agility, and fine motor skills in older children and adolescents with more developed motor abilities. |
Bayley Scales of Infant and Toddler Development | 1 to 42 months | Cognitive, language, motor, social-emotional, and adaptive development | Comprehensive developmental assessment when evaluating multiple developmental domains beyond motor skills. |
Alberta Infant Motor Scale (AIMS) | Birth to 18 months | Gross motor development | Assessing infant motor milestones, including weight-bearing, posture, and antigravity movements. Commonly used to identify early motor delays in infants. |
The PDMS is widely used because it evaluates both gross and fine motor skills, provides quantitative scores, and has strong evidence supporting its reliability and validity. The BOT-2 is designed for older children with more advanced motor skills. The Bayley Scales of Infant and
Toddler development evaluates multiple domains, including cognition, language, and motor skills.
“The Alberta Infant Motor Scale (AIMS) assesses gross infant motor skills from ages 0 to 18 months. It evaluates weight-bearing, posture, and antigravity movements of infants,” according to an American Physical Therapy Association article.
Choosing the appropriate assessment depends on the child’s age, developmental level, referral concerns, and the specific information needed to guide intervention.
How EHRs can help with documentation
Modern EHR/practice management platforms (such as TheraPlatform) assist greatly with 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.
Watch this video to learn how to save time on therapy notes
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 both clinical, legal, and insurance perspectives.
Together, structured SOAP‑type notes, good EHR platforms, and smart AI tools support better therapeutic outcomes, more efficient workflows, and stronger accountability.
Streamline your practice with One EHR
- Scheduling
- Flexible notes
- Template library
- Billing & payments
- Insurance claims
- Client portal
- Telehealth
- E-fax
Resources for occupational therapists
TheraPlatform is an all-in-one EHR, practice management, and teletherapy software built with AI-powered notes for therapists to help them save time on admin tasks. It offers a 30-day risk-free trial with no credit card required and supports different industries and sizes of practices, including occupational therapists in group and solo practices.
More resources
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- Ultimate teletherapy ebook
- The Ultimate Insurance Billing Guide for Therapists
- The Ultimate Guide to Starting a Private Therapy Practice
- Insurance billing 101
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- Free on-demand insurance billing for therapist course
- Free mini video lessons to enhance your private practice
- 9 Admin tasks to automate in your private practice
References
Alberta Infant Motor Scale (AIMS). In APTA. Retrieved August 3, 2026, from https://www.apta.org/patient-care/evidence-based-practice-resources/test-measures/alberta-infant-motor-scale-aims
Folio, M. R., & Fewell, R. R (2023). Peabody Developmental Motor Scales (3rd ed.). Guide to Item Administration. PRO-ED. https://proedinc.com/Downloads/PDMS-3_Guide_to_Administration_Pro-Ed.pdf
Peabody Developmental Motor Scales, Third Edition. (2025). In Pearsonassessments.com https://www.pearsonassessments.com/en-us/Store/Professional-Assessments/Motor-Sensory/Peabody-Developmental-Motor-Scales%2C-Third-Edition/p/P100049000?tab=product-details
FAQs about the Peabody Developmental Motor Scales, Second Edition
What is a normal PDMS score?
A child’s performance is compared to age-based norms using standardized scores, percentile ranks, and motor quotients. Scores within the average range generally indicate age-appropriate motor development, but therapists interpret results along with clinical observations and functional performance.
How long does the PDMS assessment take?
A complete PDMS typically takes about 45-60 minutes, depending on the child’s age, attention, and the number of subtests administered.
What age range does the PDMS assessment cover?
The Peabody Developmental Motor Scales is standardized for children from birth through 5 years of age.
Is the PDMS assessment standardized?
Yes, the PDMS is a standardized, norm-referenced assessment with strong reliability and validity, making it a widely used tool for evaluating gross and fine motor development in young children.
