How is child development assessed?

This is an automatically translated article.

The article is professionally consulted by Master, Doctor Ngo Thi Oanh - Pediatrician - Pediatrics - Neonatology - Vinmec Ha Long International Hospital
Your child's development needs to be assessed. This will help detect early signs of mental retardation, height, or rapid or slow growth. Thereby helping you to have a plan to adjust the appropriate and effective care and upbringing. So what is child development assessment? Do you need to worry about taking your child for an evaluation? In this article we provide helpful information about the benefits of child development assessment.

1. What is a child development assessment?

A child development assessment is a structured assessment of a child's physical, linguistic, intellectual, social, and emotional development by a developmental assessor or a team of experts. specialists may include pediatricians, speech therapists, audiologists, occupational therapists, child psychologists, physical therapists, and a number of specialists in other related fields. .
The child's developmental assessment will be adjusted to the child's age, suspected problems or delays. In general, parents can be given time to answer a series of detailed questions about their child's development such as: physical fitness, behavior, play, interactions with family members and the rest of the world. And children will go through a series of tests that may include physical exams, hearing and eye tests while playing, standardized tests, having your baby perform certain tasks to determine strengths. and weak points.
If someone asks you to take your child for a developmental assessment, you may feel anxious, scared, or even guilty. No parent likes to hear that their child has a problem. It's normal to be worried, but remember that this is simply an assessment of your child's development. It is not a diagnosis in itself (although it can lead to one), nor is it an indication that something is wrong or serious with the child.
In many cases, the evaluation results show that the child is completely normal and does not need any further treatment. During the assessment, try to be as open and informative as possible. That will make the assessment accurate and benefit only the child and the child's parents.

2. How do I know if my child needs an evaluation?

The doctor will officially monitor the child's development at each check-up for the baby. If doctors notice an area where a child seems to be significantly behind on development compared to their peers, doctors may refer the child and the child's parents to a developmental specialist for evaluation. Parents can also be the driving force behind the assessment. In fact, parents are often the first to notice a child's developmental delay because they know their child best. The doctor can only spend a few minutes with the child at each visit, so it is easy for children to miss delicate issues.
If a parent is concerned about a particular issue, such as a child's ability to speak or pick up things, but the doctor doesn't mention anything, give them some information. about the child's condition and request a referral to a specialist.

3. What are the signs of a good review?

Every assessment is different because every child and family is unique. According to Zero to Three, a nonprofit dedicated to the physical and mental health of young children, a leader in setting professional standards for the evaluation of children, shares the following characteristics:
Parents and professionals should work together. Parents are experts in their child's behavior and should play an important role in the evaluation process. Information and parental opinions are important in determining how a baby is really doing. The evaluation should be done by a team that may include: pediatrician, audiologist, child psychologist, physical therapist, among others, to get the full picture of the condition. children's skills. Team members must all have a solid understanding of child development. Children participating in assessments should be observed in a number of environments with different people to get a full picture of how children play, learn, move, interact, etc. For example, the way your baby treats you might be different from the way he treats his siblings. A good review team is one that takes all of these into account. This process needs to identify the child's strengths and weaknesses. Child development is complex, and a good assessment should look at how your child is performing in several areas, not just the one or two areas where the child seems to be struggling. Children should not be forced to separate from their parents while conducting assessments. You cannot expect an infant or young child to perform at their best if they are worried about being separated from their parents. An assessment will help the child's parents feel helped. A formal assessment of a child's development is often the first step in determining if a child needs early intervention or treatment. But when testing is done well, many parents say it's helpful in itself. During this process, they will feel like their knowledge of the child is increasing, they are getting new ideas about how to interact with their child and the answers to many of his developmental questions. Many parents say they can even feel relief. Facing an underlying developmental problem can be upsetting for them, but knowing that help is available can give parents a lot of hope.

4. How to ensure the best assessment results for children?

Preparing for an assessment and being the ultimate provider of child development information are the two most important things parents can do to ensure optimal outcomes. Here are some specific suggestions:
Both parents should attend any meeting or screening, if possible. Parents can provide different information or ideas to contribute and make their own comparisons across assessments to get a different view of their child's development. Ensure that the child is healthy and comfortable during the examination. For example, a child who feels scared, has a cold or an ear infection, will not perform at his best in his assessment. Request a written report at the end of the assessment. Ask questions about anything you don't understand and don't be afraid to object or ask for further discussion on the points you feel are problematic. Accepting an assessment that you consider negative will not benefit you or your child. Consider carefully before starting an intervention program. Treatment can be expensive, time-consuming, and can sometimes cause problems in the mother-child or father-son relationship. Therefore, before committing to an intervention, it is necessary to consult with other experts or from family members. Periodic assessment of children. Children grow and develop very quickly at different rates, so it is important to reassess them regularly. Children may develop faster or slower in some respects than their peers. However, to determine whether a child's rapid or slow growth is a serious problem, periodic evaluations are required. Child development assessment is the process of mapping a child's life to compare the development of that same area with that of other children of the same age. The comparison groups will be drawn from a representative sample of the population where the child lives. In a multicultural society, it is almost impossible to find standards that are appropriate for all children. Therefore, the process of assessing the child's development is only relative. Another thing is that no one understands their children better than their parents and sometimes it's better to let the parents' intuition tell them.

For children to be healthy and develop well, it is necessary to have a nutritious diet in terms of quantity and quality balance. If children are not provided with adequate and balanced nutrients, it will lead to diseases of excess or lack of nutrients, which adversely affect the comprehensive development of children in terms of physical, mental and motor skills.
Children who do not eat properly are at risk of micro-mineral deficiency causing anorexia, growth retardation, malabsorption,... If they notice the above signs, parents should supplement their children with products. The supplement contains lysine, essential micro-minerals and vitamins such as zinc, chromium, selenium, and B vitamins to help fully meet the nutritional needs of children. At the same time, these essential vitamins also support digestion, enhance nutrient absorption, help improve anorexia, and help children eat well.
Parents can learn more:
Signs of zinc deficiency in children
Micronutrient deficiency and failure to gain weight in children
Please regularly visit Vinmec.com website and update useful information to take care of your child. Take care of the baby and the whole family.
Reference source: babycenter.com, bmj.com