Close to One in Three Kids Are Screened for Developmental Delays

From 2015 to 2016, 30% of chil­dren under the age of 6 — 2.6 mil­lion kids across the nation — were screened for devel­op­men­tal delays.

These screen­ings, rec­om­mend­ed by the Amer­i­can Acad­e­my of Pedi­atrics, involve gath­er­ing feed­back from par­ent and guardians about a young child’s devel­op­ment, com­mu­ni­ca­tion and social behav­iors. The like­li­hood that ear­ly screen­ings occur varies wide­ly by state. In Mis­sis­sip­pi — the state with the low­est screen­ing rates — just 17% of chil­dren were screened for devel­op­men­tal delays, accord­ing to their par­ents. At the oth­er end of the data spec­trum sits Ore­gon, where 59% of young kids were screened.

Devel­op­men­tal screen­ings are an effec­tive and low-cost way to assess a child’s behav­ioral and health needs. Kids who receive ear­ly screen­ings are more like­ly to be referred for need­ed care, accord­ing to research, and these ear­ly ser­vices can play a crit­i­cal role in sup­port­ing a child’s ongo­ing well-being and growth.

Access more health and edu­ca­tion data on the KIDS COUNT Data Center:

• Chil­dren under age 6 who received a devel­op­men­tal screening
• Chil­dren who have one or more emo­tion­al, behav­ioral, or devel­op­men­tal conditions
• Chil­dren with spe­cial health care needs
• Chil­dren ages 6 to 17 who repeat­ed one or more grades since start­ing kindergarten