Human Development Center supports developmental screening for over 600 young children

As Louisiana’s University Center for Excellence in Developmental Disabilities, the LSUHSC Human Development Center (HDC) seeks to build capacity and inspire change to improve the lived experience of individuals with disabilities and families.

Louisiana serves over 50,000 children (birth to 4-years) in publicly funded childcare. HDC’s Early Childhood Initiatives work to build the capacity of early childhood programs to engage in early and accurate developmental screening and referral so children can get the early intervention services they need to reach their full potential. So far this year, more than 600 children, ages birth to 4-years old, were screened with the Ages and Stages Questionnaire – 3^rd Edition and the Ages and Stages Questionnaire: Social Emotional, 2^nd Edition. HDC partners in this work include local Early Head Start programs, the New Orleans Early Education Network (NOEEN), Agenda for Children, and the Tulane Infant and Early Childhood Mental Health Consultation program.

In addition, HDC staff provided training on developmental screening and surveillance to over 100 early childhood teachers and continues to offer consultation and coaching to childcare centers on effective inclusion practices. A secondary pilot of universal M-CHAT-R screening (Modified Checklist for Autism in Toddlers, Revised) is being conducted in Early Head Start programs with 200 toddlers. Finally, this collaborative effort enhances the capacity for future developmental surveillance, screening and referral efforts by providing opportunities for LEND Scholars to learn about and participate in applications of strategies for scalable implementation of accurate screening and referral programs in childcare centers.

For more information, contact earlychildhood@lsuhsc.edu.

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