Screening Preschoolers for Speech and Language Delay: Updated USPSTF Review

Findings include a new recommendation on which screening tools should be given to parents of children aged <3 years.

In 2006, the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) released a comprehensive review on screening speech and language delay in preschoolers (NEJM JW Pediatr Adolesc Med Feb 24 2006). The current update addresses which measures are the most accurate to use in speech and language screening and focuses on three questions:

Are screenings in primary care accurate?

High-quality studies suggest that positive and negative screens convey moderate to high increases or decreases, respectively, in the likelihood of a delay or disorder. Parent-reported measures, such as the MacArthur-Bates Communicative Development Inventory (CDI) or the Language Development Survey (LDS), have high sensitivities (82% and 91%, respectively). The most widely used tes…

Reviewing Authors

Martin T. Stein, MD

Disclosures

Consultant / Advisory boardPearson Neuroscience Advisory Board

Speaker’s bureauAmerican Academy of Pediatrics

RoyaltiesElsevier, Inc.

Editorial boardsJournal of Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics