Types of Behavioral Health Assessments

Behavioral assessments are a valuable tool to help identify behavioral and developmental disorders in children. They are often administered by a pediatrician. The pediatricians at Valley Pediatrics Associates in Owings Mills, MD, provide a wide range of medical services for children, including behavioral health assessments.

What You Need to Know about Behavioral Health Assessments

Your child might need a behavioral assessment if your child is:

• Harming or threatening themselves, other children, or pets
• Having trouble in relationships with teachers and other children
• Frequently depressed and unhappy
• Frequently anxious about school or relationships
• Willfully damaging or destroying other people’s things
• Lying, frequently arguing, or stealing
• Exhibiting anger and defiance toward authority figures
• Doing poorly in school or skipping school
• Smoking and drinking, or using drugs at an early age

There are several types of behavioral assessments your pediatrician may recommend. These include:

• Adolescent Domain Screening Inventory (ADSI) to identify youths who are at potential risk and high-risk for drug and alcohol use
• Columbia Depression Scale (CDS) to screen youths 11 years and older for depression and suicide
• Columbia Suicide Severity Rating Scale (CSSRS) to screen children ages 5 and older for suicide risk
• CRAFFT to screen adolescents through age 20 for alcohol and drug use disorder risk
• Depression Scale for Children (DSC) to screen children and adolescents ages 6 to 17 years for depression
• NIAAA Screening Questions for Alcohol Abuse which is a brief two-question screening tool to assess alcohol abuse
• Pediatric Symptom Checklist (PSC) to identify cognitive, emotional, and behavioral problems in children and youth ages 4-16
• Spence Children’s Anxiety Scale (SCAS) to screen for anxiety in preschool and school-age children
• Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ) to screen children and youths ages 3-16 for emotional, behavioral, peer relationship, attention, hyperactivity, and social behavior problems

Want to Know More About Behavioral Health Assessments?

To learn more about the types of behavioral health assessments and how they can benefit your child, call the pediatricians at Valley Pediatrics Associates in Owings Mills, MD. You can reach them in the office by calling (410) 902-7710, so call now!