Developmental Outcome of Children Assessed by the Child Development Unit Infant Developmental Team at the Women's & Children's Hospital between January 2013 to December 2014

The Infant Development Team (IDT) at the Child Development Unit (CDU), Women's & Children's Hospital provides a team approach to the assessment of babies and children under three years who have developmental difficulties and provides support for their families. Parents/carers of children who were assessed by the Infant Development Team from January 2013 to December 2014 will be identified from the Child Development Unit database and will be sent a survey questionnaire attached with a research information sheet. Parents/carers are asked to complete the questionnaire and return the paperwork in a Reply Paid Envelope provided. Alternatively, an online version of the questionnaire can be completed. A study participant number will be assigned to the parent/carer and no identifiable information will be collected on the online form. This will be followed by a telephone inquiry if no response received within 4 weeks. In most cases, children who were assessed by the IDT were discharged following their assessment. A proportion of these children were subsequently diagnosed with another medical condition or developmental condition. Some of these children were re-referred to the CDU when they were older for another assessment as they continued to have persisting developmental difficulties. The prevalence of persisting developmental concerns in this cohort of children is currently unknown. It is important to gain a better understanding of the prevalence of persisting developmental difficulties in these children, to allow better planning in relation to follow up and therapy needs, more successful transition to formal education, and to support family functioning.