The Role Of Screening Disorders In Children

Screenings are a form of assessment typically conducted and documented by early childhood teachers and specialists which involved identifying children who may be at risk for developmental delays. A screening assessment can conclude whether no further testing is needed, results are questionable or appear unreliable, or a referral is made for additional testing by a specialist (349). Diagnostic tests are designed to identify more specifically the areas of difficulty and serve as a basis for planning and intervention program involving specific learning activities, experiences, and services (355). To simplify the texts descriptions, screening tests are used to detect early developmental delays in children, and diagnostics tests focus on those specific
areas of weakness. The information received from a diagnostics test is used to plan or modify instruction.
Although I believe both methods are effective, I would select screening tests as being most effective. My reasoning for choosing screenings over diagnostic testing, it because screening tests are where the diagnosing takes place. Screenings should be used with all children in a school in order to locate those who are delayed or at risk. It is very important for teachers to know where each of their student’s stand academically, and whether or not intervention is needed in order to improve the student’s skills.