Abstract
The aim of the study was to create a health screening method for use in health care centres in evaluating children at the age of five years. The purpose was to predict on the basis of this screening test for five-year-old children, their motor, cognitive, and socioemotional development and school success at the age of eight. 207 5-yr.-old children (107 boys, 100 girls) were tested by a physician and nurses, and were followed. At the age of eight 188 children were tested by psychologists. The methods used on these 5-yr.-old children were the physician's evaluation of motor and central nervous system development (Bax test), evaluation by the public health nurse (interview with the child, the evaluation of the motor development, and a general survey of the child's stage of cognitive and linguistic development using Breuer-Weuffen test). The methods used with 8-yr.-old children were the physicians' motor evaluation with the Bax test, teachers' appraisals on reading, writing, and arithmetic., psychologists' administration of the WISC, the ITPA, the MVPT, the Frostig test, and the CAT. Motor disability (diadokokinesis, clumsiness, and kinaesthetic discrimination) is related to weaker school success (reading, writing, and arithmetic) and to poorer socioemotional responding.