Systematic Screening for Preschool Behavioral Disorders

Research in the area of behavioral disorders suggests chronic problems in the underreferral and underrepresentation of at-risk children. Systematic preschool screening procedures for identifying such students are conspicuous by their absence in both the professional literature and actual practice. The present study adapted the elementary version of Systematic Screening for Behavior Disorders (SSBD) to a select preschool Head Start population. Primary modifications of the SSBD were made in the decision rules determining which children pass through the multiple gated system to the next stage. A secondary modification was the elimination of Stage III observation of Academic Engaged Time (AET) because of its developmental inappropriateness for preschoolers. Of the Stage II subjects, 58% passed into Stage III peer social behavior observations and 5% of the Stage III sample was referred to child study teams for further assessment. Implications for further research with this population, utilizing large-scale field testing and validation procedures, are presented and discussed.