The Evidence Behind Developmental Screening Instruments

Developmental screening in South Africa: comparing the national developmental checklist to a standardized tool

“…16 The ASQ on the other hand is well supported by current evidence, i.e. 45 studies between 1998 and 2011.…”

“…16 A systematic review on the evidence behind developmental screening instruments rendered the following: The Denver Developmental screening test/DENVER II 17 with 58 research studies, the Ages and Stages Questionnaire/ASQ 18 with 45 studies, the McCarthy Screening test19 with 40 research studies, and the Parents' Evaluation of Developmental Status/PEDS20 with 20 research studies have the largest body of supporting evidence of screening tools that ranges from birth to kindergarten. 16 Although the DENVER-II has been evaluated in 58 research studies between 1971 and 2010 16 , the reported sensitivity and specificity ratings of the PEDS are higher than those of the DENVER-II. 17 Furthermore the PEDS and ASQ are the only parent administered tests, as the DENVER II, and the McCarthy Screening test are both clinician administered tests.…”

ASQ-3: validación del Cuestionario de Edades y Etapas para la detección de trastornos del neurodesarrollo en niños argentinos

“…13 Puede ser completado por un evaluador no especializado o como autorreporte por los padres, con una confiabilidad del 93%. Las características expuestas en la Tabla 1 muestran el ASQ-3 como la escala más validada en gran parte del mundo de vigilancia del desarrollo 18 y recomendada en el kit de herramientas de evaluación para países emergentes por UNICEF. 1 Se decidió que el profesional completara el cuestionario a la madre o al padre para evitar el riesgo de dificultades de interpretación por menor fluidez lectora.…”

ASQ-3: Validation of the Ages and Stages Questionnaire for the detection of neurodevelopmental disorders in Argentine children

“…13 It may be completed by a non-specialist observer or selfreported by parents, and has a 93% reliability. The characteristics described in Table 1 show that the ASQ-3 is the most validated scale in the developmental surveillance field 18 and has been recommended by the UNICEF in the assessment toolkit for emerging countries. 1 It was decided to have the parent questionnaire completed by the health care provider to prevent any comprehension difficulties resulting from a lower level of reading skills.…”

“…1 T h e W o r l d H e a l t h Organization (WHO) considers that at least 5% of the population suffers a psychomotor development disorder, 2 which is more common in developing countries. 3,4 The Committee on Children of the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) recommends that preventive care visits throughout the first 5 years of life should include a structured and systematic surveillance of development using standardized d e v e l o p m e n t a l s c r e e n i n g t e s t s administered, at least, at three ages (9,18, and 24 or 30 months old) and autism detection tests should also be administered at 18 and 36 months old. 5 This is based on different studies that have demonstrated that pediatricians' clinical judgment is not enough to identify delays during health checkups because they are not able to detect 30-50% of psychomotor development deficits so that early interventions could be implemented.…”