Understanding developmental-behavioral screening measures.

摘要

With nearly half of pediatricians still not using standardized screening tools, primary care clinicians should know that the periodic use of general developmental and social-emotional screening tools has been proven to identify promptly two to six times more children (age 0-5 years) with suspected delays than a clinician's unstructured surveillance alone. After completing this article, readers should be able to: Recognize the many methods available to detect a wide spectrum of developmental and behavioral conditions with screening tools, and the screening schedule recommended by the AAP. Recognize that universal, periodic screening with psychometrically sound developmental-behavioral instruments greatly enhances a clinician's ability to detect, refer, and monitor children who have evolving developmental and behavioral problems. A pediatric provider's impression has good specificity but poor sensitivity and thus has difficulty identifying the less obvious delays.