Early Screening of Neurodevelopment

Early screening of neurodevelopment in children enables primary healthcare providers to make earlier referrals to interventional programs. Evidence shows that children who are assigned to therapeutic services are more likely to achieve their potential development. In this chapter, we provide an overview of the developmental milestones and the latest classification of developmental delays (DDs) and neurodevelopmental disorders (NDDs) in children. In addition, the psychometric properties of the most common tools for screening development in children, including the Ages and Stages Questionnaire (ASQ), ASQ: Social-Emotional (ASQ: SE), Parents’ Evaluation of Developmental Status (PEDS), Bayley Scales of Infant and Toddler Development (BSID), and Denver Developmental Screening Test (DDST), are presented in this chapter. Along with these standard screening tools, we also discuss groundbreaking research discovering some novel biomarkers or methods for a more accurate diagnosis of DDs or NDDs.