The SWYC

Welcome to the new home of The Survey of Well-being of Young Children (SWYC)

The Survey of Well-being of Young Children (SWYC) is a preeminent early childhood screening tool co-developed by Ellen Perrin, MD, and Chris Sheldrick, PhD.
Beginning in 2008, with funding support from the Commonwealth Fund, Dr. Perrin and Dr. Sheldrick worked to conceptualize, design, refine, test, and publish each portion of the SWYC. Today, professionals around the U.S. and the world have adopted the SWYC in their practices, incorporated it into their electronic medical systems, helped to translate the SWYC into new languages, and included the SWYC in their research.
In 2025, Tufts Medical Center graciously transferred the SWYC to the TEAM UP Scaling and Sustainability Center at Boston Medical Center. TEAM UP is committed to the SWYC’s mission and will continue to steward the SWYC in the future. 
Young child smiling

The Survey of Well-being of Young Children (SWYC)™ is a freely available, comprehensive screening instrument for children under 5 years of age. The SWYC was written to be simple to answer, short, and easy to read. 
 
The entire instrument requires 15 minutes or less to complete and is straightforward to score and interpret. The SWYC is approved by MassHealth for compliance with the Children’s Behavioral Health Initiative screening guidelines. 

Recognized by the American Academy of Pediatrics

According to the AAP policy statement on developmental surveillance and screening, “it is appropriate to perform additional developmental screens using validated tests. These screenings should be recognized separately, with appropriate coding, billing, and payment and with the additional cost acknowledged in capitated expectation.”  

The policy statement provides “a list of developmental screening tests and their psychometric testing properties,” noting that “these screening tests, which are focused on parent-completed tools, have acceptable psychometric properties.” The table includes the SWYC Milestones under “general developmental screening tests”, the BPSC and PPSC under “behavioural screening tests”, and the POSI under “Autism Screening: Promising Tests”. 

Lipkin PH, Macias MM, AAP Council on Children with Disabilities, Section on Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics. Promoting Optimal Development: Identifying Infants and Young Children With Developmental Disorders Through Developmental Surveillance and Screening. Pediatrics. 2020;145(1):e20193449

SWYC Logo updated

Utilizing the SWYC in your practice

The current version of the SWYC has been extensively researched and widely disseminated. In addition, further research is ongoing. For these reasons, any changes to the components of the SWYC are strongly discouraged. In unusual circumstances, requests for exceptions will be considered by the authors. Please email SWYC.TEAMUPCenter@bmc.org   with change requests.  

Disclaimer

The SWYC and the information on this site are not designed to and do not provide medical advice, professional diagnosis, or treatment. The information and any reference materials posted here by  TEAM UP Scaling and Sustainability Center are intended solely for the information of the reader. Such information is NOT intended to replace consultation with a qualified medical professional. The SWYC is ©Boston Medical Center.