Presented are papers from a 2 day conference in 1972 on screening and assessment of high risk children, 0 to 5 years of age, to detect developmental disabilities in physical, cognitive/intellectual, socio/emotional, and language areas. Briefly reviewed are legislation, reports, and programs which have concerned children's development in the last decade. Two papers consider physical screening and assessment; one paper focuses on screening devices such as the Rapid Checklist; the other paper indicates preference for use of medical histories, developmental screening tests, and eye screening tests. Presented in one of two papers on cognitive/intellectual screening is a procedure for measuring heart rate and electroencephalographic responses of newborns to stimulation to evaluate children's neurological functioning, and focused upon in the other paper are limitations of infant mental tests. Discussed in relation to screening in the socio/emotional area are approaches to using observational information for assessment purposes, and ethical problems encountered in design of measures and implementation of mass screening, respectively. Considered in the first of two papers on screening in the language area are issues and problems such as the primitive nature of assessment technique instruments; stressed in the other paper is the difficulty of screening for hearing ability. Recommendations of the conference include the need for an improved confidential system to compile data on each child's tests and development. Touched upon in the summary of the conference's proceedings are such points as insufficient manpower for mass screening and expense. (MC)