Developmental Screening in Arizona

Arizona

Regular well-child visits with a health care provider are an integral part of promoting the healthy growth and development of children. During these visits, doctors monitor and screen for delays or problems in the child’s development. These screenings can lead to early detection of developmental disabilities such as autism or attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), which can then lead to better treatments and improved outcomes. A delay in detection of developmental disorders is a missed opportunity to provide interventions that allow children to achieve intelligence quotients (IQs) greater than 85 or unassisted placement into a general education classroom.

Populations that are more likely than others to receive developmental screening include:

• Non-Hispanic white children, who have better access to primary care and, by extension, developmental screening compared with Hispanic, non-Hispanic Black and Asian children.
• Children who speak English at home compared with children who speak a language other than English at home.
• Children from higher-income households compared with those from lower-income households.
• Children whose parents have higher educational attainment compared with children whose parents have less than a high school education.
• Children who have insurance coverage compared with children who are uninsured.

The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that every child receive a developmental screening at age 9, 18, 24 and 30 months during their well-child visits. Increasing access and quality of care improves developmental screening. The 2010 Affordable Care Act included coverage for important early intervention preventive services including developmental screening for children younger than age 3, as well as surveillance throughout childhood, autism screening, behavioral assessments and hearing and vision screenings.

Other pilot initiatives to increase the proportion of children who receive developmental screening include:

• Assuring Better Child Health and Development (ABCD) has been implemented in multiple states and is currently being used to develop developmental screening policies. The ABCD model aims to increase developmental screening coordination between health care providers and is implemented at the county level.
• New Mexico’s Development Screening Initiative proved effective at increasing developmental screening among pediatricians.
• Los Angeles’ County 211 Developmental Screening and Care Coordination Project improved developmental screening among underserved communities.

Increasing the proportion of children who receive developmental screening is a Healthy People 2030 objective.

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