Denver Scale

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The Denver Developmental Screening Test (DDST), commonly known as the Denver Scale, is a test for screening cognitive and behavioural problems in preschool children. It was developed by William K. Frankenburg and first introduced by him and J.B. Dobbs in 1967.[1] The test is currently marketed by Denver Developmental Materials, Inc., in Denver, Colorado, hence the name.

The scale reflects what percentage of a certain age group is able to perform a certain task. In a test to be administered by a pediatrician or other health or social service professional, a subject's performance against the regular age distribution is noted. Tasks are grouped into four categories (social contact, fine motor skill, language, and gross motor skill) and include items such as smiles spontaneously (performed by 90% of three-month-olds), knocks two building blocks against each other (90% of 13-month-olds), speaks three words other than "mom" and "dad" (90% of 21-month-olds), or hops on one leg (90% of 5-year-olds).

According to a study commissioned by the Public Health Agency of Canada, the DDST is the most widely used test for screening developmental problems in children.[2] While this study acknowledges the test's utility for detecting severe developmental problems, the test has been criticized to be unreliable in predicting less severe or specific problems. The same criticism has been upheld for the currently marketed revised version of the Denver Scale, the Denver-II.[3]. Frankenburg has replied to such criticism by pointing out that the Denver Scale is not a tool of final diagnosis, but a quick method to process large numbers of children in order to identify those that should be further evaluated.[4]

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[edit] References

  1. ^ Frankenburg, William K.; Dobbs, J.B. (1967). "The Denver Developmental Screening Test". The Journal of Pediatrics (71): 181-191.
  2. ^ Canadian Task Force on the Periodic Health Examination (1994) The Canadian Guide to Clinical Preventive Health Care. Ottawa: Minister of Supply and Services Canada. Chapter 26 "Preschool Screening for Developmental Problems" [1]
  3. ^ Glascoe, Frances Page et al. (1992). "Accuracy of the Denver-II in Developmental Screening". Pediatrics (89): 1221-1225.
  4. ^ Frankenburg, William K. (2002). "Developmental Surveillance and Screening of Infants and Young Children". Pediatrics (109): 144-145.
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