As a consequence, the measure was not studied by its authors for the most critical attribute of any screen, its accuracy.

It has not been studied for validity (given alongside diagnostic measures to view their relationship or researched for the kinds of problems it may or may not detect). Although the instrument has proven reliability, it was not constructed on a large, current, nationally representative sample. Thus standards for screening test construction still apply to the Denver. This revised definition of the Denver's function remains commensurate with what screening tests are designed to do: sort those who probably have problems from those who probably don't. Frankenburg has replied to such criticism by pointing out that the Denver Scale is not a tool of final diagnosis, but a quick method to process large numbers of children in order to identify those that should be further evaluated. The same criticism has been upheld for the currently marketed revised version of the Denver Scale, the DENVER II. While this study acknowledges the test's utility for detecting severe developmental problems, the test has been criticized to be unreliable in predicting less severe or specific problems. Tasks are grouped into four categories (social contact, fine motor skill, language, and gross motor skill) and include items such as smiles spontaneously (performed by 90% of three-month-olds), knocks two building blocks against each other (90% of 13-month-olds), speaks three words other than 'mom' and 'dad' (90% of 21-month-olds), or hops on one leg (90% of 5-year-olds).Īccording to a study commissioned by the Public Health Agency of Canada, the DDST is the most widely used test for screening developmental problems in children. In a test to be administered by a pediatrician or other health or social service professional, a subject's performance against the regular age distribution is noted.

The scale reflects what percentage of a certain age group is able to perform a certain task. The test is currently marketed by Denver Developmental Materials, Inc., in Denver, Colorado, hence the name.

Frankenburg and first introduced by him and Josiah.B. The Denver Developmental Screening Test (DDST), commonly known as the Denver Scale, is a developmental measure, and is a test for screening cognitive and in preschool children.

Denver developmental screening test pdf