Developmental examination

All doctors working with children should have good knowledge of normal developmental milestones, as early diagnosis of developmental problems and appropriate intervention is desirable to improve the outcome. Candidates should be able to identify key warning signals and know the practical relevance of the milestones. ‘Developmental assessment’ is the comprehensive evaluation of a child’s physical, intellectual, language, emotional, and social development, and is an area where most candidates lack competence and confidence. It should be distinguished from ‘developmental screening’, which is a brief, formal, standardized evaluation for the early identification of children at risk of a developmental disorder. In the developmental assessment station, a candidate can be assessed in different ways: a developmental history with the parent and child; assessment of specific developmental domains (such as gross motor skills, fine motor skills, speech, language skills, etc.); or global assessment of an infant or older child. Occasionally, the candidate might be asked to just ‘observe the child’s play’ and comment on the development. The candidate should anticipate and be prepared for these scenarios. In the exam, a detailed assessment of development is impossible, as it is complicated and time consuming. Ideally, observations of the child should take place with several people in varied settings, which is not feasible in the exam. However, useful assessment of a child’s development can be easily performed as part of routine examination. The main purpose of the developmental assessment in the exam is to identify the child’s strengths and weaknesses, the developmental problem, and, if possible, the cause of the problem. The candidate is expected to give an approximate developmental age at the end of the assessment. Before we continue, it is important to understand the commonly used terminology. A child is said to have ‘developmental delay’ when he or she shows a significant lag (more than two standard deviations) in acquiring milestones in one or more domains. Global developmental delay is defined as a delay in two or more developmental domains. ‘Developmental deviance’ occurs when a child develops milestones outside or apparently ahead of the typical acquisition sequence. ‘Developmental regression’ is the loss of previously acquired milestones. Children develop skills in various areas, also called developmental domains: gross motor, speech and language, fine motor, cognitive, personal–social, and emotional.