Cara Dosman, Sheila Gallagher, Sandra Sahagian Whalen, Dorrie Koscielnuk, Patricia LaBerge, Cynthia Brown, Beverley Hanson, Daniella Ongaro, Courtenay Mayowski, Colin Wilbur
This article presents tools for the pediatric resident doing developmental evaluation after developmental surveillance has detected a problem. Crucial skills with prompts developmental attainments charts and succinct tables provide a practical and structured approach to figuring out what the child's developmental disorder might be. Charts include wording for history and observations on physical exam, as prompts. 'Crucial skills' content is novel and holistic to meet the standards of modern developmental care when providing parenting guidance and determining diagnoses. Skills are placed in the chart according to oldest age of attainment, signalling that the skill will have been attained by most children of that age. The teaching tools in this article will equip residents to subdue complex presentations into manageable cases, to enjoy as satisfyingly simple.