Development and Validation of the Inventario Dimensional de Avaliacao do Desenvolvimento Infantil
Project Information
Principal Investigator: Leslie HawleyCo-Principal Investigator: Natalie Koziol
Funding Agency: UNL - Brazil Collaboration Pilot Impact Grant
Award Date: January 27, 2017
Theme: Early Childhood, Research Methodology
Project URL: N/A
For more information please contact Leslie Hawley at lhawley2@unl.edu.
Abstract
Early detection of developmental delays children is essential — the earlier the intervention, the greater the benefit. Although estimates of children with developmental delays range from 16 to 18 percent, fewer than one-third of these children are identified by their health care providers.
In Brazil, the world’s fifth most-populated country, even fewer developmental delays are detected due to limited availability of screening and assessment tools.
This project focuses on developing a multidimensional inventory — the Inventário Dimensional de Avaliação do Desenvolvimento Infantil (IDADI; Dimensional Inventory for Child Development Assessment) — to detect developmental delays in children by assessing their cognitive and motor skills, communication and language, socio-emotional development and adaptive behavior.
Researchers will collaborate with professors at Brazil’s Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul as part of the University of Nebraska–Lincoln/Brazil Early Childhood Initiative. Data will be collected from mothers of 2,000 Brazilian children, ages 6 and younger, from diverse geographic and socioeconomic backgrounds.
Once data are gathered, researchers will cluster the information by age groups — for example, 4 to 6 months; and 7 to 9 months — to create developmental thresholds. These thresholds will help determine whether children are developing normally and whether they need additional tests or services.
Research findings are expected to contribute significantly to child development studies in Brazil in the areas of health, education and psychological assessment.