Pediatric Outcomes Toolbox: Infant & Child Developmental Risk Screen

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Infants born premature or with complications can be at risk for developmental challenges. Therapists are intimately involved in screening and follow-up for these children so that problems can be identified early and intervention can be provided. Pediatric Outcomes Toolbox: Infant & Child Developmental Risk Screen includes a discussion on selecting appropriate tests and measures for the purpose of screening, early referral, prognosis and diagnosis of developmental challenges. This course will also review the relevant literature related to such outcome measures and illustrate important concepts for analysis and interpretation through a case example.

Meet your instructor

Robin Dole

Robin L. Dole, PT, DPT, EdD, PCS, is a professor of physical therapy and prior director of the Institute for Physical Therapy at Widener University. She currently serves as dean of the School of Human Service Professions at Widener. Dr. Dole has been involved in pediatric practice for nearly 30 years, and as an academician…

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Chapters & learning objectives

1. What is Developmental Risk?

As a foundation for this course, this chapter will cover concepts related to developmental risk as a concern for infants and toddlers, processes for surveillance versus screening, infant and newborn screening programs, guidelines for early screening, referral and follow-up and the role that therapists may play in this process.

2. Testing for Surveillance, Screening, Prognosis, Referral, Follow-up

Outcome measures are used by a variety of healthcare practitioners for purposes of surveillance, screening, prognosis, referral, and follow-up. Surveillance measures aid in assessing large populations of children to ensure that they are making progress developmentally and identify which children may require closer screening or assessment to identify developmental delays. For children at risk for developmental challenges, tests and measures can be helpful for early identification of problems so that referral for intervention can be made. Determining likelihood of later motor impairment in infants and children is the focus of several measures used by clinicians for prediction, prognosis and follow-up. Examples of systematic reviews and methods of interpreting measures related to screening, prognosis/prediction, and referral will be reviewed.

3. Review of Common Tests and Measures for Screening Infants and Children

Familiarity with the various assessments commonly used for screening infants and children aids in the process of appropriate selection, administration and interpretation. This chapter provides an overview of common tests and measures with a focus on those that were identified in the discussion of systematic reviews in the previous chapter. Psychometric properties for each test, where available, will be discussed with an emphasis on reliability and predictive validity.

4. Clinical Case Examples: Selection, Administration, Interpretation, Sharing Results

This final chapter will use case examples to illustrate the process of selecting appropriate tests and measures, depending on the child’s age and the purpose for testing. Tips for administration, interpretation, and sharing the results with others will be discussed.

More courses in this series

Pediatric Outcomes Toolbox: Child & Caregiver Participation Measures

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Pediatric Outcomes Toolbox: Measures for Alternative Forms of Mobility

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