Denver II: evaluation of the development of children treated in the outpatient clinic of Project Einstein in the Community of Paraisópolis.

OBJECTIVES: To evaluate the neuropsychomotor development of children treated in an outpatient clinic, using the Denver Developmental Screening Test II (DDST-R).

METHODS: This was an exploratory descriptive research using a quantitative approach, conducted in the outpatient clinic of the Project Einstein in the Community of Paraisopolis (PECP), São Paulo, Brazil. The sample consisted of 35 children, from birth to 6 years of age, most of them from 1 to 3 years old (19; 54.3%). They underwent the Denver II Test, which assesses four neuropsychomotor development areas: gross motor, fine motor adaptive, language and personal-social.

RESULTS: Most of the children (24, 68.6%) had test results compatible with normal development, while 10 (28.6%) had a "risk" test and 1 (2.9%) was "untestable" due to refusal to carry out the proposed activities. As to the items evaluated in each area, 7 children (20%) showed a developmental "delay" (when the child does not perform the activity passed by more than 90% of the children of his/her age) and 18 (51%) required "attention" (when the child does not perform the activity passed by 75 to 90% of the children of his/her age), predominantly in the language area.

CONCLUSIONS: Although most of the children (68.6%) presented normal development in the test, we point out that in the remaining children (31.4%), the number of items classified as "delay" or "attention", and tests classified as "risk" or "untestable" suggest impairment in neuropsychomotor development. We underscore the importance of the routine administration of the DDST-R for an early detection of developmental disabilities and thus establish primary prevention programs.