Wellness
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Developmental Screenings of Young Children Remain Low in the U . S .
Only about one-third of young children in the U . S . receive recommended screenings or surveillance designed to catch developmental delays . Findings reveal wide variations in rates across states , with as few as 17 percent of children under three years old receiving developmental screening in the lowest performing state . The study was led by researchers at the federal Health Resources and Services Administration , Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and Oregon Health & Science University . The findings were published online July 9 , 2018 in JAMA Pediatrics .
Approximately 12 percent to 15 percent of American children experience developmental delays or disabilities . These include conditions that affect small motor skills , such as holding a crayon ; large motor skills , such as walking ; or social and behavioral skills , such as talking .
Identifying these issues early is critical to getting children and their families the help they need in order to advance developmental skills — particularly before school age , when problems can affect academic performance and have lifelong consequences .
Since the American Academy of Pediatrics ( AAP ) first recommended developmental screening in 2001 , a variety of initiatives at the state and federal levels have been implemented to promote screening , which often involves parents completing a standardized questionnaire at their child ’ s well visits , and developmental surveillance , which involves health care providers asking specific questions about concerns in learning , development or behavior .
A child , ages 9 to 35 months , was considered to have received developmental screening if a parent or other caregiver responded affirmatively to validated questions in the survey about whether a doctor or other health care provider had them complete a questionnaire about developmental observations or concerns . A child was considered to have received developmental surveillance if a doctor or other health care provider had asked them about developmental concerns .
An analysis of this data showed that in 2016 , nationally , only 30.4 percent of children in this age bracket had received a developmental screening in the past year . A slightly higher number , 37.1 percent , had received developmental surveillance . Less than 1 in 5 children had received both screening and surveillance , while just over half had received neither .
Demographic characteristics , including primary household language , family structure , household education and income , had a slight effect on whether children received screening and surveillance . However , an important factor that significantly predicted both screening and surveillance was whether a child had health care that met the criteria for being a medical home — for example , having a usual source of care , having a personal physician or nurse , and receiving family-centered care .
Optimizing early child development in the first 1,000 days of life is dramatically important for child health . Make sure your child gets screened , say experts . To learn more visit https :// bit . ly / 2NUXhpW .
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August 2018 WNY Family 51