Diagnostic Inventory of Screening Children Validation

Principal Investigator: Darcy Fleming
Funder: Canadian Research Institute for Law and the Family (CRILF), c/o the Faculty of Law, University of Calgary
Duration: 2003-2004

The Diagnostic Inventory of Screening Children (DISC) is an assessment tool often used in early intervention and education programs in Alberta and the rest of the country. However, there was very little research evidence to support the use of test results for screening, program planning, or the measurement of treatment effects. The purpose of this validation study was to examine the sensitivity and specificity of the DISC as a screening tool for children in Head Start programs.

The results of this validation did not support the use of the DISC as an evaluation tool for children over the age of four, and raised questions about the usefulness of DISC as a screening tool when clinical staff are available to conduct more thorough assessments of children's functioning.