Infant-Toddler Checklist (ITC)

Background

The Infant-Toddler Checklist (ITC) is an early developmental screening questionnaire designed to identify communication and social-developmental differences in infants and toddlers.

The questionnaire focuses on important early developmental areas such as eye contact, emotional interaction, gestures, sounds, language development, understanding, and play behaviors.

The ITC is commonly used by parents, caregivers, pediatric professionals, and early childhood specialists to monitor developmental milestones and identify children who may benefit from additional developmental evaluation or support.

The questionnaire explores several important developmental areas:
- Emotion and Eye Gaze
- Communication
- Gestures
- Sounds
- Words
- Understanding
- Object Use

Emotion and Eye Gaze measures social attention, emotional connection, eye contact, and shared interaction.

Communication measures the child's ability to seek help, gain attention, and socially interact with others.

Gestures measure nonverbal communication skills such as pointing, showing, waving, and shared interaction.

Sounds and Words measure speech development, vocalization, and early language growth.

Understanding measures receptive language and the ability to respond to spoken words and phrases.

Object Use measures play skills, pretend play, object understanding, and developmental interaction with toys and everyday objects.

The ITC is designed as an early developmental screening tool and should not be used as a standalone diagnostic instrument.

Procedure

Instructions:
This questionnaire is designed to be completed by parents, caregivers, teachers, or professionals who regularly observe the child.

Please answer each question based on the child's usual communication, social interaction, gestures, sounds, understanding, and play behaviors.

Participants rate each statement using response options that best describe the child's current developmental behaviors and abilities.

Participation

This assessment is designed for infants and toddlers and is intended for educational, research, and developmental screening purposes only.

Results should not be considered a clinical diagnosis or substitute for a professional developmental, medical, or psychological evaluation.

Scoring & Interpretation

Responses are scored based on developmental frequency and ability levels. Higher scores generally indicate stronger developmental communication, social interaction, gesture use, and language-related abilities.

The ITC is commonly used as an early developmental screening instrument to help identify children who may benefit from additional developmental evaluation or early intervention support.

Infant-Toddler Checklist (ITC) Questionnaire

Instructions & Terms

Below is the Infant-Toddler Checklist (ITC), a digitally adapted 24- items self-assessment questionnaire. This assessment does not provide a clinical diagnosis, medical determination, or substitute for professional psychological evaluation.

Question 1 of 24 Emotion and Eye Gaze

Do you know when your child is happy and when your child is upset?

Not Yet Sometimes Often

Question 2 of 24 Emotion and Eye Gaze

When your child plays with toys, does he/she look at you to see if you are watching?

Not Yet Sometimes Often

Question 3 of 24 Emotion and Eye Gaze

Does your child smile or laugh while looking at you?

Not Yet Sometimes Often

Question 4 of 24 Emotion and Eye Gaze

When you look at and point to a toy across the room, does your child look at it?

Not Yet Sometimes Often

Question 5 of 24 Communication

Does your child let you know that he/she needs help or wants an object out of reach?

Not Yet Sometimes Often

Question 6 of 24 Communication

When you are not paying attention to your child, does he/she try to get your attention?

Not Yet Sometimes Often

Question 7 of 24 Communication

Does your child do things just to get you to laugh?

Not Yet Sometimes Often

Question 8 of 24 Communication

Does your child try to get you to notice interesting objects just to get you to look at the objects, not to get you to do anything with them?

Not Yet Sometimes Often

Question 9 of 24 Gestures

Does your child pick up objects and give them to you?

Not Yet Sometimes Often

Question 10 of 24 Gestures

Does your child show objects to you without giving you the object?

Not Yet Sometimes Often

Question 11 of 24 Gestures

Does your child wave to greet people?

Not Yet Sometimes Often

Question 12 of 24 Gestures

Does your child point to objects?

Not Yet Sometimes Often

Question 13 of 24 Gestures

Does your child nod his/her head to indicate yes?

Not Yet Sometimes Often

Question 14 of 24 Sounds

Does your child use sounds or words to get attention or help?

Not Yet Sometimes Often

Question 15 of 24 Sounds

Does your child string sounds together, such as uh oh, mama, gaga, bye bye, dada?

Not Yet Sometimes Often

Question 16 of 24 Sounds

About how many of the following consonant sounds does your child use: ma, na, ba, da, ga, wa, la, ya, sa, sha?

None 1-2 3-4 5-8 Over 8

Question 17 of 24 Words

About how many different words does your child use meaningfully that you recognize?

None 1-3 4-10 11-30 Over 30

Question 18 of 24 Words

Does your child put two words together (for example, more cookie, bye bye Daddy)?

Not Yet Sometimes Often

Question 19 of 24 Understanding

When you call your child's name, does he/she respond by looking or turning toward you?

Not Yet Sometimes Often

Question 20 of 24 Understanding

About how many different words or phrases does your child understand without gestures?

None 1-3 4-10 11-30 Over 30

Question 21 of 24 Object Use

Does your child show interest in playing with a variety of objects?

Not Yet Sometimes Often

Question 22 of 24 Object Use

About how many of the following objects does your child use appropriately: cup, bottle, bowl, spoon, comb or brush, toothbrush, washcloth, ball, toy vehicle, toy telephone?

None 1-2 3-4 5-8 Over 8

Question 23 of 24 Object Use

About how many blocks (or rings) does your child stack?

None 2 blocks 3-4 blocks 5 or more

Question 24 of 24 Object Use

Does your child pretend to play with toys (for example, feed a stuffed animal, put a doll to sleep, put an animal figure in a vehicle)?

Not Yet Sometimes Often

Psychometric Norms

Participants

55%

Community Mean

Sample SD

60%

Highest Observed Score

50%

Lowest Observed Score

2026–2026

Collection Period

Current normative data for theCurrent normative data for the Infant-Toddler Checklist (ITC) are derived from 2 anonymous participant responses collected through TraitProfiler between 2026 and 2026. All response data are collected anonymously and are intended exclusively for educational, psychometric, and non-commercial research purposes.

Sources

Wetherby, A. M., & Prizant, B. M. Communication and Symbolic Behavior Scales Developmental Profile Infant-Toddler Checklist (ITC).

Wetherby, Brosnan-Maddox S, Peace V, Newton L. (2008). Validation of the Infant-Toddler Checklist as a broadband screener for autism spectrum disorders from 9 to 24 months of age. Autism : the international journal of research and practice