Identifying developmental disorders in early childhood can lead to timely intervention and better outcomes. The aim of this study was to develop a new screening instrument for the infancy period (the Social-Communication Area Screening Test for Infants – SCASI). The research study was carried out at the Istanbul University School of Medicine. A total of 432 children aged between 6 and 24 months and their families constituted the study group. The SCASI is a parent-reported test with 43 items and a two-factor structure. It has strong internal consistency; α is 0.962, and 0.961 and 0.811 for factors I and II, respectively. Overall, 84 out of 310 children (28.2%) in the normative sample were identified as children “at risk” for developmental disorders. The SCASI is believed to be a promising instrument for both pediatricians and other clinicians to identify children at risk for developmental disorders in infancy, and plan further intervention programs.

Keywords: <i>gelişim testi, riskli bebek, gelişimsel gecikme, erken girişim.</i>