This study examined the agreement between the Ages & Stages Questionnaires, third edition (ASQ-3), and the Ages & Stages Questionnaires: Social-Emotional, second edition (ASQ:SE-2), and investigated the relationship of the overall indication of "parental concerns" about their child's behavior on the ASQ-3 and the results of the…

Over the past 20+ years, researchers have worked toward identifying early behavioral predictors of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and developing observation-based screeners to supplement existing parent-report methods. This study is a follow-up, 3 to 8 years later, with parents/caregivers of 57 children previously enrolled in a U.S.…

The Parents' Evaluation of Developmental Status (PEDS), PEDS: Developmental Milestones (PEDS: DM) and PEDS tools (i.e., the PEDS and PEDS:DM combined for use) are parent-reported screening tools frequently used to identify young children requiring early intervention. An ideal screening tool for all contexts would be brief, inexpensive with…

Young children from impoverished backgrounds experience high levels of family and environmental stress, adversely impacting developmental functioning. Early identification provides a pathway to solutions, but many children are never evaluated. In addition, the child-serving workforce lacks resources and expertise to use traditional measures.…

Background: Despite broad scientific consensus about the importance of the early years in the lifelong health and wellbeing of children, there is debate about whether and how healthcare professionals can optimise early child development through monitoring or screening. The evidence in support of a systematic population-level intervention is…

School-based screening instruments have traditionally focused on assessing within-child factors, such as a student's academic, social, emotional, behavioral, or physical development. This emphasis in school-based screening may be a missed opportunity to assess and ameliorate contextual factors (i.e., social determinants of health) influencing…

The Developmental Screening, Monitoring, and Enrichment (DSME) program for low-income children and families is an initiative developed to support the goal of the Healthy People 2020 and 2030 that aims to increase the number of healthy young children to be ready for school. The 8-week DSME program focuses on reducing health disparities and…

There is a critical need for validated screening tools for autism spectrum disorder in very young children so families can access tailored intervention services as early as possible. Few screeners exist for children between the recommended screening ages of 18-24 months. This study examined the utility of a new autism-specific parent-report…

School-based screening instruments have traditionally focused on assessing within-child factors, such as a student's academic, social, emotional, behavioral, or physical development. This emphasis in school-based screening may be a missed opportunity to assess and ameliorate contextual factors (i.e., social determinants of health) influencing…

Early writing is a foundational skill related to young children's literacy development and later reading and writing achievement. Examining children's early writing skills, particularly for those who have been identified as at-risk for later literacy difficulties, is critical to understanding potential differences in the early writing of these…

Increasing numbers of young children are now routinely screened for developmental delays during well-child visits in primary care settings which support early identification of developmental delays. Unfortunately, research indicates that there is often a gap between the number of children who receive an abnormal screen and the number who…

Early language skills and prosocial behavior contribute to positive outcomes across the lifespan. Screening has improved the identification and early intervention (EI) for children with hearing loss, autism spectrum disorders, and genetically based disabilities. However, many children with significant functional impairments in language and…

Two independent cohorts (N = 155, N = 126) of infants at high and low risk for autism spectrum disorder (ASD) were followed prospectively between 6 and 36 months of age, when n = 46 were diagnosed with ASD. Gaze to adult faces was coded--during a developmental assessment (Cohort 1) or a play interaction (Cohort 2). Across both cohorts, most…

Early intervention services are funded through a complex blend of federal, state, and local sources, and are part of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). States have to make difficult decisions about how to fund critical IDEA services, including early intervention services, because Congress vastly underfunds IDEA. This often…

Every child from birth to age 3 in the U.S. is entitled under IDEA (IDEA Part C) to support in reaching developmental milestones if they have a developmental delay -- that is, if they are meeting milestones more slowly than expected, or if they have a diagnosed condition that has a high probability of resulting in a delay. Strong support as soon…