How do you distinguish between developmental surveillance and screening during a well-child visit?

• A. Surveillance is ongoing observation; screening uses standardized tools at specific intervals to identify possible delays.
• B. Screening is ongoing observation; surveillance uses standardized tools at specific intervals.
• C. Both rely on standardized tools at fixed intervals.
• D. Surveillance and screening are the same.

Answer: (A)

Developmental surveillance is the ongoing, informal process of watching a child grow and develop at every visit, gathering parent concerns, histories, and observations about milestones across domains (motor, language, social, cognitive) over time. Developmental screening, on the other hand, is the formal use of validated, standardized tools at specific ages to flag children who may have a delay or disorder and need further evaluation.

In practice, you continuously monitor development during well-child visits and discuss any concerns, while at designated ages you administer a brief screening tool (such as ASQ or M-CHAT) to systematically identify kids who might require a more in-depth assessment. This combination ensures ongoing vigilance plus objective check points.

Thus, the best answer reflects that surveillance is ongoing observation, whereas screening uses standardized tools at specified intervals to identify potential delays.