Screening Links

Policy Reports

Identifying Infants and Young Children With Developmental Disorders in the Medical Home: An Algorithm for Developmental Surveillance and Screening, a policy statement by the American Academy of Pediatrics' Committee on Children with Disabilities, originally published in the July 2006 issue of Pediatrics.

Early identification of developmental disorders is critical to the well-being of children and their families. .... Pediatricians should consider using standardized developmental screening tools that are practical and easy to use in the office setting ... The authors recommend that developmental surveillance be incorporated at every well-child preventive care visit. Any concerns raised during surveillance should be promptly addressed with standardized developmental screening tests. In addition, screening tests should be administered regularly at the 9-, 18-, and 30-month visits.

Developmental Surveillance and Screening of Infants and Young Children, a policy statement by the American Academy of Pediatrics' Committee on Children with Disabilities, originally published in the July 2001 issue of Pediatrics.

Because developmental screening is a process that selects children who will receive more intensive evaluation or treatment, all infants and children should be screened for developmental delays.... Pediatricians should consider using standardized developmental screening tools that are practical and easy to use in the office setting...

Helping Young Children Succeed, a research and policy report by the National Conference of State Legislatures and ZERO TO THREE, originally published in September 2005.

[Young children who have been maltreated] show signs of delayed social-emotional development, language acquisition, cognition and behavior. Infants and toddlers in foster care have rates of developmental delay approximately four to fives times greater than those found among children in the general population...

Practice Parameter: Screening and Diagnosis of Autism, a report by the Quality Standards Subcommittee of the American Academy of Neurology and the Child Neurology Society, originally published in the August 2000 issue of Neurology.

Developmental screening tools have been formulated based on screening of large populations of children with standardized test items. Sensitive and specific developmental screening instruments include: the Ages & Stages Questionnaires, the BRIGANCE® Screens, the Child Development Inventories, and the Parents’ Evaluations of Developmental Status...

Articles

Selecting Developmental Surveillance and Screening Tools, originally published in the October 2008 issue of Pediatrics in Review, the official journal of the American Academy of Pediatrics.

[A]vailable [screening] instruments vary widely considerably with respect to: 1) primary purpose (eg, screening for general developmental delay versus specific disorders such as autism), 2) method of administration (eg, parent- versus practictioner-administered), 3) reliability and validity (eg, sensitivity and specificity for detection of children who have clinically significant developmental problems), and 4) costs and feasibility for use in specific settings.

To identify the most valid and feasible screening instruments for their practices, practitioners need detailed information and guidance concerning scientific data and feasibility. We conducted a comprehensive review of scientific research and practical considerations for developmental screening instruments to guide selection and application of screening instruments in a range of practice settings...

Accurate & Inexpensive Developmental Screenings: The First Step in Early Intervention (PDF, originally published in the Spring 2004 issue of Children and Families, the magazine of the National Head Start Association.

We know early intervention and money help over the long haul, so why do so many developmental delays and problems go unaddressed? The most obvious explanation would probably be that we don’t know how to spot developmental or behavioral problems in very young children—but this is not the case. Good screening instruments do exist.... In fact, these simple instruments identify 70 to 80 percent of children with problems. Even better, repeated or periodic screenings increase these percentages...

Developmental Screening (free registration required for access), originally published in the 2005 issue of the Journal of Child Neurology.

A successful developmental screen will try to maximize sensitivity and specificity. Usually, a sensitivity level of 70% or more is acceptable for developmental screening tests... Although this signifies that 20% to 30% of children will escape detection, if pediatricians follow the recommendation of the American Academy of Pediatrics’ Committee on Children with Disabilities to screen at each of the 12 scheduled visits between birth and 5 years of age, these missed cases will, presumably, be diagnosed in the near future...

Introduction to Developmental and Behavioral Screening, originally published in the May 2004 issue of Developmental Behavioral Pediatrics.

There is broad agreement that there should be a systematic way of identifying children who need to be evaluated for disability. There is good evidence to support the use of standardized, validated tools to do this screening...

Never Too Soon: Identifying Social-Emotional Problems in Infants and Toddlers, originally published in the March 1, 2003 issue of Contemporary Pediatrics.

The earlier that social-emotional problems are recognized, the better the outcome is likely to be. Several recent screening tools for children from birth to 3 years can facilitate this process using parent-completed questionnaires that are quick, easy, and economical in office practice...

Web Pages

First Signs, the web site for this nonprofit dedicated to public awareness and training on early detection of developmental delays and disorders.

Finding Help for Young Children with Disabilities (Birth–5), from the National Dissemination Center for Children with Disabilities.

Child Find, the web site for the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) program for early identification of children with disabilities.

Surveillance and Screening Activities, from the National Center of Medical Home Initiatives for Children with Special Needs.

Developmental Surveillance and Screening Provider Information, from the National Center of Medical Home Initiatives for Children with Special Needs.

Developmental Screening for Health Care Providers, from the Centers for Disease Control (CDC).

Importance of Early Identification of Social and Emotional Difficulties in Preschool Children (PDF), from the Center for International Rehabilitation.

Myths About Developmental Screening Tools, from the National Center on Birth Defects and Developmental Disabilities.