IDENTIFYING AND REFERRING CHILDREN WITH DEVELOPMENTAL

Please Distribute to All Clinical Staff in Pediatrics, Family Medicine, Primary Care, Chronic
Diseases, and Internal Medicine.
February 4, 2008
Dear Colleagues:
The New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (NYC DOHMH) has issued a
new edition of its City Health Information (CHI) publication entitled: "Identifying and Referring
Children with Developmental Delays to Early Intervention Services.” This is the February 2008
issue of the monthly CHI publication, which is written for the health care community in NYC. If
you subscribe to the CHI by mail, you will receive a hard copy of this publication soon.
Approximately 15% of children in the United States have some form of developmental delay that
affects their ability to communicate, learn, interact with others, or regulate their behavior. Yet
only 30% of such delays are detected before a child reaches school age.
Identification of developmental delays between birth and age 3 using standardized screening
tools and referral to Early Intervention (EI) services should be routine practice for pediatric
primary care providers (PCPs) during every well-child visit. EI services provided to eligible
children (up to age 3) by programs such as the NYC EI Program (run under the auspices of the
DOHMH) include speech, physical, and occupational therapy, special instruction, psychological
and social work services, family support groups, and assistive technology. EI services not only
help address a wide range of developmental problems in young children, but also reduce later
comorbidities such as depression and anxiety. Key messages for pediatric PCPs include:
• Screen children for developmental delays at each well-child visit.
• Use a combination of clinical judgment, standardized screening tools, and listening to
parent concerns to identify children with developmental delays.
• Collaborate with families to refer children to EI services, such as the NYC EI Program.
This report is available in the HAN Document Library, in the Mental Health folder on the HAN
Web site, and at the following Web site: http://www.nyc.gov/html/doh/html/chi/chi.shtml.
Online and hard-copy continuing medical education (CME) activities related to this report are
available.

……………….

IDENTIFYING AND REFERRING CHILDREN WITH DEVELOPMENTAL
DELAYS TO EARLY INTERVENTION SERVICES
• Screen children for developmental delays at each well-child visit.
• Use a combination of clinical judgment, standardized screening tools, and listening to
parent concerns to identify children with developmental delays.
• Collaborate with families to refer children to Early Intervention services.