Extended
Also for children under the age of 5, use an early childhood mental status exam (MSE) that assesses the child’s developmental, social, and emotional functioning and style, both within the family and with the clinician.
The MSE should include:
- Physical appearance, including: dysmorphic features (i.e. congenital disorders, genetic syndromes, or birth defects)
- Reaction to new setting and people and adaptation during evaluation
- Self-regulation, including: sensory regulation, unusual behaviors, activity level, attention span, frustration tolerance
- Physical aspects, including: motor function, muscle tone, coordination, tics, abnormal movements, seizure activity
- Vocalization and speech production, including: expressive and receptive language
- Thought content, including: fears, nightmares, dissociative states, hallucinations
- Affect and mood, including: modes of expression, range, responsiveness, duration, intensity
- Play, including: structure, content, symbolic functioning, modulation of aggression
- Cognitive functioning
- Relatedness to parents, other caregivers, examiner