The INTERGROWTH-21.sup.st Project Neurodevelopment Package: A Novel Method for the Multi-Dimensional Assessment of Neurodevelopment in Pre-School Age Children

• Published in: PloS one 2014-11, Vol.9 (11)
• Main Authors: Fernandes, Michelle, Stein, Alan, Newton, Charles R, Cheikh-Ismail, Leila, Kihara, Michael, Wulff, Katharina, de León Quintana, Enrique, Aranzeta, Luis, Soria-Frisch, Aureli, Acedo, Javier, Ibanez, David, Abubakar, Amina, Giuliani, Francesca, Lewis, Tamsin, Kennedy, Stephen, Villar, Jose
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Early childhood education; Electroencephalography
• ISSN: 1932-6203; 1932-6203
• DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0113360

The International Fetal and Newborn Growth Consortium for the 21.sup.st Century (INTERGROWTH-21.sup.st) Project is a population-based, longitudinal study describing early growth and development in an optimally healthy cohort of 4607 mothers and newborns. At 24 months, children are assessed for neurodevelopmental outcomes with the INTERGROWTH-21.sup.st Neurodevelopment Package. This paper describes neurodevelopment tools for preschoolers and the systematic approach leading to the development of the Package. An advisory panel shortlisted project-specific criteria (such as multi-dimensional assessments and suitability for international populations) to be fulfilled by a neurodevelopment instrument. A literature review of well-established tools for preschoolers revealed 47 candidates, none of which fulfilled all the project's criteria. A multi-dimensional assessment was, therefore, compiled using a package-based approach by: (i) categorizing desired outcomes into domains, (ii) devising domain-specific criteria for tool selection, and (iii) selecting the most appropriate measure for each domain. The Package measures vision (Cardiff tests); cortical auditory processing (auditory evoked potentials to a novelty oddball paradigm); and cognition, language skills, behavior, motor skills and attention (the INTERGROWTH-21.sup.st Neurodevelopment Assessment) in 35-45 minutes. Sleep-wake patterns (actigraphy) are also assessed. Tablet-based applications with integrated quality checks and automated, wireless electroencephalography make the Package easy to administer in the field by non-specialist staff. The Package is in use in Brazil, India, Italy, Kenya and the United Kingdom. The INTERGROWTH-21.sup.st Neurodevelopment Package is a multi-dimensional instrument measuring early child development (ECD). Its developmental approach may be useful to those involved in large-scale ECD research and surveillance efforts.