Early Identification of Children at Risk: An International Perspective

This volume contains contributions that are interdisciplinary and inter­ national. The editors believe this is an especially timely and promising enterprise, for both sources of diversity are needed for improving our abilities to identify the young child at risk and to prevent disability. In terms of diSciplines, the volume brings together papers by health care providers (such as pediatricians and public health nurses) as well as educators and psychologists. Each of these groups works in dissimilar settings and faces dissimilar problems: Health care providers seek sim­ ple identification procedures for use in busy primary care settings; psy­ chologists emphasize well-constructed research designs; and educators reflect the need for early identification and education. Each of these spe­ cialist groups has something to offer the other, but too often each tends to limit its publications and readings to its own discipline, thus failing to capitalize on a wider scope. of knowledge and practice. We hope that this selection of papers will allow all readers addressing the early iden­ tification of children at risk to generate a more integrated interdiscipli­ nary perspective. We also hope this volume reflects the sense of excitement that we feel from a sharing of international perspectives. There is no single ap­ proach to the early identification of children at risk that is universally applicable to all countries. In addition, approaches within each country vary because of availability of financial and human resources and dif­ fering expectations of local communities.