[MBD can be discovered at the child health centers by a general examination before the start of school].

In preventive child care more effort should be made to identify children with deficits in attention, motor control and perception (so called MBD) before the start of school. In Lund, Sweden, 1,046 children born in 1982 and 1983 were screened for MBD at the age of 5 1/2 by nurses at local Child Health Centres. The seven per cent who failed the examination were re-examined by a physiotherapist and a child psychologist. Of the original population, only two per cent were found to fulfill the full criteria of MBD. The introduction of a routine examination at the age of 5 1/2, supplemented by information from parents and pre-school teachers would not only enable MBD to be identified but also other problems with which the child needs help before starting school.