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Children’s healthy development depends on an intricate relationship among mind, body, and environment. Monitoring children’s development, especially during the early years, provides insights into the way they are growing intellectually, physically, and emotionally, and enables early identification of children with developmental delays or disability. 

By monitoring developmental milestones, which are the skills that most children are able to perform by a certain age, health care providers can offer information and services to match the abilities and needs of each child and their family. In addition to their use in guiding counseling and support to children and families, using tools for identifying children with developmental delays and disabilities is an essential first step to be able to track the participation and outcomes of children with disabilities in nutrition programs and other services which can contribute to strengthening services for children with disabilities and feeding difficulties.

Use the resources in this section to monitor children’s development and identify disabilities early. 

We found 18 resource(s)
Malawi Development Assessment Tool: IDEC Monitoring Tool Version 1.3
Assessment Tool published by University of Liverpool in
This tool assesses motor, language, and social development skills in children 0–5 years.
Monitoring Children’s Development in the Primary Care Services: Moving from a Focus on Child Deficits to Family-Centred Participatory Support: Report of a Virtual Technical Meeting
Technical Report published by WHO in
This report summarizes a meeting to agree on how best to monitor children 0–3 years of age for risk of developmental delay, disorder, or disability in primary care services.
Washington Group Short Set on Functioning (WG-SS)
Assessment Tool published by Washington Group on Disability Statistics in
The WG-SS is a set of six questions designed to collect data for national-level censuses and surveys on disability.
Modified Checklist for Autism in Toddlers, Revised, with Follow-up (M-CHAT-R/F™)
Assessment Tool published by Diana L. Robins, Ph.D. in
This is a screening tool to assess risk for autism spectrum disorder (ASD).
A Toolkit for Measuring Early Childhood Development in Low and Middle-Income Countries
Guideline/Guidance published by World Bank in
This toolkit provides a practical guide for selection and adaptation of child development measurements for use in low- and middle-income countries.
Supporting Families for Nurturing Care: Resource Modules for Home Visitors
Training Material published by UNICEF and International Step by Step Association (ISSA) in
This training package contains four modules focused on disability awareness, inclusion, and identification.
Module on Child Functioning: Questionnaires
Assessment Tool published by UNICEF and the Washington Group in
The purpose of this module is to identify the subpopulation of children who are at greater risk than others of the same age or who are experiencing limited participation in an unaccommodating environment.
Assessment of Neurodisability and Malnutrition in Children in Africa
Journal Article published by Seminars in Pediatric Neurology in
This review highlights assessment and clinical imaging tools to assess neurodevelopmental and neurodisabling conditions in children with malnutrition.