It is suggested that children be seen for well-patient visits for the following ages:

PEDIATRICS SOUTH DEVELOPMENTAL

SCREENING TESTS

 In our continuing effort to provide the most up to date care for children, we will begin offering developmental screening at certain ages to children in our practice.  We are committed to our partnership with parents to help our patients achieve not only optimal health, but also a chance to realize their full potential, whatever that might be.

Developmental screening will be offered to all children at particular ages.  This will involve questions that parents will answer geared to assess development in areas such as speech, motor skill (fine and gross motor), and social abilities.  The answers will be used to detect any child that might not otherwise be identified by parental concern or routine office visits.  This will enable us to provide earlier intervention and support which has been shown to be extremely helpful in improving developmental growth and overall adjustment.

Since a screening test is meant to pick up all possible children with difficulties, many children may screen positive due to individual differences in achieving developmental tasks.  Therefore, the screening test will always be interpreted within the context of the child and the environment.  In addition, a screening test is not a diagnostic test, but will merely identify which child might benefit from more specific diagnostic testing to determine if there really is a problem needing intervention.

The screening tests we have chosen will take the form of parent questionnaires that will be provided by us and then returned to the office by mail for review at the particular well visits.  We will also be making some available on our website for download.  These tests have been used extensively and have good controls, meaning we are confident that they will be useful to provide information about your child’s development to you, and helpful to us in assuring attention to all of your child’s needs.  We will also provide specific information on the M-CHAT and the Ages and Stages Questionnaires at each office. 

We are excited to be offering this service and value any feedback as well as questions as we go forward.  Thank you for making our job easier as we continue to provide the best care possible for your child.

 Print out the M-CHAT Questionnaire