Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2018 Jul;11(3):420-426.
doi: 10.1016/j.dhjo.2018.01.002. Epub 2018 Feb 2.

Better together: Developmental screening and monitoring best identify children who need early intervention

Brian Barger  1 , Catherine Rice  2 , Rebecca Wolf  3 , Andrew Roach  4
Affiliations

Better together: Developmental screening and monitoring best identify children who need early intervention

Brian Barger et al. Disabil Health J. 2018 Jul.

Abstract

Background: Widely recommended developmental surveillance methods include developmental monitoring (DM) and development screening (DS). Much research has been done on DS, but very little research has compared the effectiveness of DM and DS together.

Objectives: To investigate the relationship between DM and DS in Part C early intervention (EI) service receipt.

Methods: Authors used data from the 2007/2008 and 2011/2012 National Survey of Children's Health (NSCH). Authors report the prevalence of children aged 10 months to 3 years who received (a) DM only, (b) DS only, (c) both DM and DS, and (c) no DM or DS across survey years. Authors compare the odds of EI receipt across these groups.

Results: During both periods, estimated EI receipt prevalence was higher for children receiving both DM and DS (8.38% in 2007/2008; 6.47% in 2011/2012) compared to children receiving no DM or DS (1.31% in 2007/2008; 1.92% in 2011/2012), DM alone (2.74% in 2007/2008; 2.70% in 2011/2012), or DS alone (3.59% in 2007/2008; 3.09% in 2011/2012) (for both time frames, p < .05). From 2007/2008 to 2011/2012, the proportion of children receiving DS only and both DM and DS increased, while children receiving DM only and no DM or DS decreased.

Conclusions: Children receiving DM and DS together were more likely to receive EI compared to children receiving DM alone, DS alone, or neither DM nor DS. These findings support the AAP recommendations indicating that DM and DS are complementary strategies for improving early identification and linkage to EI for young children.

Keywords: Bright futures; Child find; Developmental epidemiology; Developmental monitoring; Developmental screening; Developmental surveillance; Early intervention; Individuals with disabilities education act; Part C.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Conflicts of interest

The authors have no conflicts of interest.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Percentage of children in the United States ages 10 months to 3 years who received developmental monitoring and/or screening according to parent report in 2007/2008 and 2011/2012. Notes. * = statistically significant change in percentages across years, p < .001. All percentages are estimates accounting for complex survey weighting and stratification as recommended by the National Survey of Children's Health (NSCH 2007/2008 [top rows]; 2011/2012 [bottom rows]).
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Guralnick MJ. The next decade of research on the effectiveness of early intervention. Except Child. 1991;58(2):174. - PubMed
    1. Guralnick MJ. Effectiveness of early intervention for vulnerable children: a developmental perspective. Am J Ment Retard. 1997;102(4):319–345. - PubMed
    1. Boulet S, Boyle C, Schieve L. Health care use and health and functional impact of developmental disabilities among US children, 1997–2005. Arch Pediatr Adolesc Med. 2009;163(1):19–26. - PubMed
    1. Boyle C, Boulet S, Schieve L, et al. Trends in the prevalence of developmental disabilities in US children, 1997–2008. Pediatrics. 2011;127(6):1034–1042. - PubMed
    1. Rosenberg S, Zhang D, Robinson C. Prevalence of developmental delays and participation in early intervention services for young children. Pediatrics. 2008;121(6):e1503–e1509. - PubMed

Publication types