THE CAPUTE SCALES - CAT CLAMS - A PEDIATRIC ASSESSMENT-TOOL FOR THE EARLY DETECTION OF MENTAL-RETARDATION AND COMMUNICATIVE DISORDERS/

The early identification of communication disorders and mental retarda tion necessitates an assessment measure that differentiates these two disorders in infancy and early childhood, The Cognitive Adaptive Test/ Clinical Linguistic and Auditory Milestone Scale (CAT/CLAMS) was devis ed to diagnose global cognitive delay and language delay by evaluating language and problem-solving skills independently It does so in an ef ficient and accurate manner that differentiates type and degree of del ay. The use of CAT/CLAMS is well established in populations of childre n thought to be either delayed or at risk of delay. This article repor ts the use of the CAT/CLAMS for identifying children with language or cognitive delay (less than or equal to 75% of expected) in a cohort of asymptomatic children with no known risk for delay, When compared wit h the Bayley Scales of Infant Development II, the CAT/CLAMS was effect ive in identifying delay. In a primary care setting, the CAT/CLAMS pro ved to be a practical, reliable assessment tool for identifying and qu antifying delays in language and cognition in children 36 months of ag e or younger. (C) 1998 Wiley-Liss, Inc.