In recent years, there has been a proliferation of instruments for assessing mental health (MH) among autistic people. This study aimed to review the psychometric properties of broadband instruments used to assess MH problems among autistic people. In accordance with the PRISMA guidelines (PROSPERO: CRD42022316571) we searched the APA PsycINFO via…

Over the past 20+ years, researchers have worked toward identifying early behavioral predictors of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and developing observation-based screeners to supplement existing parent-report methods. This study is a follow-up, 3 to 8 years later, with parents/caregivers of 57 children previously enrolled in a U.S.…

There is a need to delineate best practices for referring, assessing, and retaining students suspected of posttraumatic stress (PTS) and maladaptive grief (MG) in school-based treatment. Evidence-based risk-screening procedures should accurately include students who are appropriate for group treatment and exclude students who do not require…

In the Response to Intervention framework, a psychometrically sound screening tool is essential for identification of children with emotional and behavioral risk. The purpose of this study was to examine the validity of the Pediatric Symptom Checklist-17 (PSC-17) screener in school-based settings. Forty-four teachers rated 738 preschoolers using…

This review contributes to the growing body of global autism spectrum disorder literature by examining the use of screening instruments in low- and middle-income countries with respect to study design and methodology, instrument adaptation and performance, and collaboration with community stakeholders in research. A systematic review was conducted…

Given the increasing diversity of families within the United States, early educators have many opportunities to work with children and families from diverse backgrounds. It is likely that these encounters will include children who, at first glance, exhibit behavior that educators may consider worrisome and "challenging." However, many…

Despite innovations in the screening and early identification of students who may benefit from school mental health services, many schools struggle to link screening to intervention decisions, particularly at the Tier 2 level. Universal complete mental health screening, which measures strengths along with risk factors, is a strength-based approach…

Early intervention for children with behavioural difficulties can be effective in terms of outcomes for both the children and their families. Early intervention can save a child from long-term outcomes such as school failure, peer rejection and later offending. However, in terms of accurate assessment of young children's behavioural difficulties,…

Care Quality Rating and Improvement Systems (QRISs) have advanced and matured, a number of states and localities have undertaken evaluations to validate the systems. Such efforts stem from the desire to ensure that the system is designed and operating in the ways envisioned when the system was established. Given that a central component in a QRIS…

Universal screening enables service providers and families to quickly identify difficulties and implement strategies that are likely to lessen the probability of longterm negative outcomes including severe persistent challenging behaviors. The practice of universal screening is in line with the prevention approach that is the foundation of the…

Early identification of social-emotional behavioral problems in infants and preschoolers is critical. Nine parent-report and caregiver/teacher-report instruments measuring preschool social-emotional behavioral problems and strengths are reviewed. Advantages to the use of parent-report and caregiver/teacher-report instruments are that they are easy…

Objective: This study tests the hypothesis that information typically collected during a maltreatment investigation can be used to screen children for mental health problems. Method: Data are from the National Survey of Child and Adolescent Well-Being. Cumulative risk scores were created for 3,022 children and compared to reports of clinical-level…

This article promotes integrating assessment and evidence-based practice in the treatment of traumatized children through a review of two newly developed trauma assessment tools: (1) the Child Welfare Trauma Referral Tool (CWT), and (2) Assessment-Based Treatment for Traumatized Children: A Trauma Assessment Pathway Model (TAP). These tools use…

Early detection of developmental and behavioral/mental health problems is greatly facilitated when quality instruments are deployed. This article describes how to identify accurate measures and presents standards for screening tests. Included is a table delineating accurate tools for primary care: typically those relying on information from…

The present paper reviews the methods available for neurological or neuromotor evaluation at preschool age. General textbooks on pediatric neurology describe the neurological examination at preschool age in terms of the assessment of the evaluation of cranial nerves, muscle tone, muscle power, reflexes, and the presence of abnormal movements. They…