Behaviour Assessment System of Children, 3rd Edition (BASC-3)

Want to understand the various emotions and behaviours of your child, or yourself?

The Behavior Assessment System of Children (BASC-3) is what you’re looking for. This neurodevelopmental test is suitable for children, adolescents, and young adults aged 2 to 25 years old. It gathers information using a triangulation method by analysing an individual’s behaviour from three perspectives: self, teacher and parent.

Features of the BASC-3

The BASC-3 has the following scales, each taking around 10-20 minutes to complete:  

Ψ Teacher Rating Scales (TRS): measure adaptive and problem behaviours in school settings 
Ψ Parent Rating Scales (PRS): measure adaptive and problem behaviours in home and community settings 
Ψ Self-Report of Personality (SRP): a child, adolescent, or young adult will use this to describe their behaviours, emotions and self-perceptions 
Ψ Student Observation System (SOS): for recording and classifying directly observed classroom behaviours on paper or electronic devices
Ψ Structured Development History (SDH): provides information about the course of development and family history

Multiple Perspectives Covering Multiple Settings

Given that information is collected from various parties (e.g., teachers, parents), this test offers a comprehensive overview of behavioral and emotional problems and how they manifest in different settings. It is useful in the clinical diagnosis of disorders conducted by an experienced child psychologist that can start in childhood or adolescence, such as attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder, anxiety and depression. It can also point out issues associated with learning disabilities, such as adjustment problems (e.g low self-concept).

As the BASC-3 can flag up various areas of concern, this makes it particularly helpful for differential diagnoses, which is becoming increasingly important in school settings. Not only will this be helping our child therapists in planning interventions, it can also be used to measure progress.