AEPS® is a linked, authentic, curriculum-based assessment and intervention system. First, providers complete the AEPS Test to get a baseline for a child's development and use the results to create meaningful, functional IFSP/IEP goals. Then, providers use the AEPS Curriculum to design interventions for the child that are embedded into his or her daily activities, whether in a home, classroom, or center. After delivering the interventions, providers use the AEPS Test again to determine the child's progress.

There are two versions of the AEPS Test, one for children birth to three and one for children three to six. The tests cover six developmental areas—fine motor, gross motor, cognitive, adaptive, social-communication, and social. Each area is divided into sequences of skills:

While children engage in everyday activities, providers assess the children's skills in each area using the Child Observation Data Recording Form. Each test item is scored with a 0 (does not pass), 1 (inconsistent performance), or 2 (passes consistently). To supplement and clarify these scores, providers can choose from six qualifying notes and record narrative for each item. The AEPS Test, combined with the input caregivers provide in the AEPS Family Report, enables providers to pinpoint what children can do, identify areas that need attention, and use that information to develop meaningful IFSP/IEP goals and objectives.

With the AEPS Curriculum, providers implement activity-based interventions for each child, starting with simple skills and moving to complex skills. Because both curricula, one for children birth to three and one for children three to six, use the same numbering system as the AEPS Test, providers can precisely match a child's specific IFSP/IEP goals and objectives with interventions that address those goals.

The hundreds of interventions that make up the AEPS Curriculum are more than a simple collection of activities; they are carefully sequenced and proven by extensive research to improve children's skills. Providers tailor the interventions to each child's needs and embed the interventions into children's everyday play and routine activities in their homes, preschools, or child care settings.

Once a provider has given a child the AEPS Test and delivered instruction and intervention using the AEPS Curriculum, the provider can again give the child the AEPS Test to measure his or her progress toward IFSP/IEP goals and objectives. It's recommended that the AEPS Test be given to a child at least four times during the year to accurately measure progress and fine-tune intervention programming.

AEPSinteractive™ (AEPSi™) provides numerous one-click reports that enable providers to determine a child's progress and share information with parents: the popular Child Progress Record, AEPS Test score summaries, graphs of children's progress over time, IFSP/IEP summary reports, and the Present Level of Functioning report. With AEPSi, providers can easily manage children's assessment data and spend their time on quality instruction—not paperwork.