Development Research

Group data collected through our Developing Childhood program will provide important information for research purposes and will be used to continuously improve our early childhood programs and to assist with research into early detection and intervention of brain injury and development delays.

In the publication "A Review of the Early Childhood Literature " prepared for the Department of Family and Community Services as a background for the National Families Strategy by the Centre for Community Child Health Feb 2000 "early intervention is described as activities implemented to avoid progression or persistence of problems soon after they have arisen" and that "early intervention presupposes early detection." Two of the review key findings were:

Early childhood and developmental programs can produce large increases in IQ during the early childhood years and sizeable, persistent improvement in reading and maths, decreased need for grade retention and special education, and improved socialisation for disadvantaged children (Barnett 1995).
Community based group education programs for parents produce more changes in children's behaviour and are more cost effective and user friendly than individual clinic-based programs (Barlow 1997)

Also, it is noted In Chapter 5 Intervention Studies: How can we influence outcomes?

Interventions that might make a difference to adverse outcomes in early childhood include preschool and child care programs, (both universal and targeted or enhanced early childhood programs), health surveillance programs, home visiting programs, parenting programs and programs for children with developmental delay or disability.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data also suggest that there are widespread delays in diagnosing autism spectrum disorders .

"The majority of children with an ASD had documented concerns by a parent or a professional before three years of age," Rice noted. "But the median age of earliest ASD diagnosis was approximately four and a half to five and a half years," she said.

One expert believes that earlier diagnosis is essential to help these children.

"This tells us there are an enormous number of children with autism," said Dr. Gary Goldstein, chair of the scientific affairs committee at the advocacy group Autism Speaks, and president and CEO of the Kennedy Krieger Institute in Baltimore, which focuses on pediatric mental health.

Goldstein is particularly concerned that most children with an autism spectrum disorder aren't diagnosed until they start school, despite parents raising concerns years before. "We know that early intervention can be helpful for these children, and it's not going to happen if you're not diagnosed until you are five years old," he said.

These problems can be diagnosed as early as age two, Goldstein said. "It isn't that children begin to show signs of autism at four and five -- all of them who have it at six, had it at two. With proper screening, many more children would be recognized," he said."