PEDIATRICS Vol. 57 No. 5 May 1976, pp. 646-647
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The risks of screening

Albert J. Solnit M.D.1

1 Sterling Professor of Pediatrics and Psychiatry, and Director, Child Study Center, Yale University, 333 Cedar Street, New Haven, Connecticut 06510

In our efforts to disseminate widely the most useful knowledge that can serve children and their families, we should be aware of the risks of shortcuts that may overbalance the promise of good for children. Much of our developmental knowledge1-7 is sound, based on solid empirical findings. The knowledge, however, is not useful if it is applied without regard to the qualifications of those who put it to work. Love is not enough! It requires a disciplined mind to observe, evoke, and interpret observations and the emerging mosaics of data that identify and forecast health, deviation, illness, or deprivation.

Our intent, in screening, is to find a more effective way of safely applying our knowledge to the advantage of more children and their families.