Maltreated infants and toddlers: predictors of developmental delay.

Objective: The aim of this study was to examine the relationship of child, caregiver, and maltreatment characteristics at the time of the investigation with low scores on developmental measures obtained 18 and 36 months after substantiation in a nationally representative sample of maltreated infants and toddlers.

Method: A proxy for developmental delay was constructed based on a criterion of 2 or more scores > or = 1 SD below the mean in the domains of adaptive behavior, cognition or communication at each assessment time point. Twenty-three percent of children were classified as having developmental delay, 26% with inconsistent low scores, and 51% with no low scores.

Dimensions of behavior of toddlers entering early intervention: child and family correlates.

This study examined the nature and correlates of the behavioral characteristics of a nationally representative sample of 1612 toddlers 18-31 months of age entering Part C early intervention services in the U.S. Factor analysis of 15 items describing child behavior collected as part of an extensive telephone interview of parents yielded four dimensions of behavior: difficult behaviors, lack of persistence, distractible, and withdrawn.

ICF and ICD codes provide a standard language of disability in young children.

Background And Objectives: The aim of this study was to examine the utility of a hierarchical algorithm incorporating codes from the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health--ICF (WHO, 2001) and the International Statistical Classification of Diseases-ICD (WHO, 1994) to classify reasons for eligibility of young children in early intervention.

Methods: The database for this study was a nationally representative enrollment sample of more than 5,500 children in a longitudinal study of early intervention. Reasons for eligibility were reviewed and matched to the closest ICF or ICD codes under one of four major categories (Body Functions/Structures, Activities/Participation, Health Conditions, and Environmental Factors).