Development of an assessment for ideational praxis.

OBJECTIVE This study developed an assessment of ideational praxis, examined its psychometric properties, and analyzed age and gender trends in children who were typically developing. METHOD Part 1 developed items and scoring criteria of the Test of Ideational Praxis (TIP) and examined interrater reliability and internal consistency. Part 2 studied performance of 80 typically developing children between ages 5 and 8 years. RESULTS The TIP demonstrated acceptable interrater reliability (ICC = .85) and internal consistency (coefficient alpha = .74). Children who were typically developing demonstrated age and gender trends. Girls scored higher than boys, and older children scored higher than younger children. CONCLUSION The TIP is the first objective assessment for identification of ideational abilities and is a reliable assessment tool. Further research is needed to validate the construct of ideation and examine the TIP's ability to discriminate between children with and without ideational difficulties.