Help Me Grow
Promoting Child Health & Well-Being Starts With Developmental Screening.
New York State ranks second to last in the percent of children receiving developmental screenings (JAMA Pediatrics, 2018), with only 17.5% of children having a formal developmental screening before entering school. About 1.1 million of our state’s 1.4 million children are never screened for disabilities or developmental delays in their critical first years of life, when there is the best chance for successful intervention. With as many as 1 in 4 children at risk for delay (Birth to Five; Watch Me Thrive, 2014), universal early childhood screening is critical in identifying delays and intervening at the opportune period of child development. At this rate – and without increased screening – up to 9,520 preschool and kindergarten classrooms in New York State will continue to be filled each year by children with unidentified challenges.
Child Health Providers Can Make a Difference
As a child health care provider, you can play a key role in helping New York State achieve universal developmental screening according to American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) recommendations. These recommendations involve using formal, validated tools at intervals of 9, 18 and 30 months of age or when surveillance raises a concern. We realize it can be challenging to integrate a developmental screening program within busy well-child visits. That’s why Help Me Grow provides special support for medical providers who engage in formal developmental screening and follow-up.
Get Support for Developmental Screening
Help Me Grow provides the Ages & Stages Questionnaire (ASQ) to child health care providers and works with practice staff to implement a screening program that fits their planning and training needs as well as their unique office procedures. We offer the most recent ASQ-3 and the ASQ:SE-2 versions. The ASQ-3 tracks a child’s problem-solving, communications, fine motor, gross motor, and personal-social skills. The ASQ:SE-2 tracks social-emotional development. Each of these is available in English, Spanish, and select other languages. These screenings are often the first step in getting families connected to the resources they may need to help their children get the strongest start in life.
Maintenance of Certification
In addition to helping comply with developmental screening guidelines from the American Academy of Pediatrics, Bright Futures, and the Patient-Centered Medical Home, board-accredited physicians may be eligible for Maintenance of Certification credits for improving screening practices. For more information, please contact melissa@docsfortots.org.
Contact Help Me Grow Today
Help Me Grow is available in some New York State communities. Click your county on the map below to find out more.