Understanding Developmental Surveillance and Screening

When your child is young, one of the most important things you can do is watch their growth. It’s fun to observe all the changes occurring in their early years, and it helps to know their growth is on track.

Developmental surveillance and developmental screening are two important tools Rainilda Valencia, MD, Deepika Saini, MD, FAAP, and our pediatric team at Valencia Pediatrics in Victorville, California, use to monitor your child’s development. 

Learn the differences between developmental surveillance and screening and why both tools are necessary for your child’s development.

What is developmental surveillance?

Developmental surveillance is a form of monitoring your child’s overall development. It’s a more holistic type of observation that takes place at well-child appointments. 

Our team takes your child’s height and weight and looks at where they fit on growth charts relative to their peers. We also make a general assessment of your child’s physical, mental, social, and emotional growth based on observations at the visit and speaking to you and other important adults in your child’s life.

Developmental surveillance looks more broadly and holistically at your child’s growth than developmental screenings. Surveillance is an especially important focus of early well-child visits from birth to age five.

In addition to developmental surveillance, comprehensive well-child visits can include taking a medical history, looking at your child’s general health, performing in-office tests, and administering vaccines. 

What is developmental screening? 

Developmental screening is a more specific form of assessing your child’s early development. From 0-36 months, your child attends several developmental screenings in addition to well-child checkups.

These visits are a more formal developmental assessment than surveillance. We look at specific metrics to screen your child for potential developmental delays or disabilities that could require treatment or additional monitoring.

If your child has certain risk factors in their profile or screenings show a potential area of concern, our team might also refer your child for a more in-depth evaluation. We also refer your child to additional appropriate treatment based on results.

Using developmental surveillance and screening together

Used together, developmental surveillance and screening give our team a comprehensive look at your child’s early development. Developmental surveillance allows us to use general observation, in combination with your child’s medical history, family history, and conversations with your child’s support network, to determine areas of strength and concern.

We use the information gathered through developmental surveillance to hone in on areas of focus during developmental screening. This allows us to quickly identify potential areas of need and recommend early interventions right away.

If your child is meeting developmental milestones as expected, developmental surveillance and screening give reassurance that they’re progressing well and allow you to enjoy watching them grow up. 

On the other hand, it can be nerve-wracking to have a child identified as not meeting milestones, but further monitoring and treatment at a young age give your child the best chance for the most successful outcome.

Our team celebrates the uniqueness of every young child with personalized monitoring and surveillance. Contact us now to get your child set up for their early childhood pediatric care appointments.