These guidelines were developed to help registered nurses identify preschoolers with potential handicaps in the course of health assessments. Contents include guidelines on 3-, 4-, and 5-year-olds. Contents are organized within age levels in terms of functioning levels and anticipatory guidance. Functional areas covered include physical, intellectual, verbal, emotional, and social development. For each functional area, characteristics, assessment techniques, intervention recommendations, and guidelines for parents are discussed. The subsection on anticipatory guidance concerns safety and accident prevention, discipline, play, sleep, sexuality, nutrition, dental care, and toilet training. This subsection is written for both registered nurses and other professionals who work with the child. The subsection also identifies characteristics, assessment techniques, and intervention recommendations for each age level. It is recognized that other professionals in the school setting will probably assess functioning levels in educational, communicative, social, and psychological areas. The nursing assessment of those areas is designed to support and identify the functions that would be picked up in the routine physical assessment. The appendix includes sample forms, a discussion of screening tools, tables of normal values, and sample handouts for parents. (RH)