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INTRODUCTION
For optimal development of social, language, and other skills, young children need a warm, responsive, enriched, communicative environment (Glascoe & Leew, 2010). Infants and young children exposed to risk conditions may present with developmental delays or disorders that may ultimately impact socio-emotional, educational and vocational outcomes (Guralnick, 2013). These risks include any potential factors that affect a child’s ability to interact with his or her environment (Paul & Roth, 2010; Rossetti, 2001), which in turn result in developmental delays or disorders. Communication delays in particular are most prevalent in children under the age of three years (Rossetti, 2001). If communication delays remain undetected later educational and social performance are negatively impacted, which in turn has long term financial implications, resulting in further delays or disorders (Eadie et al., 2010; Wankoff, 2011). In South Africa, the prevalence of communication delays or disorders are increasing as a result of environmental factors such as unemployment, limited medical resources, lack of educational services, violence, crime and HIV/AIDS (Guralnick, 2013).
Preventative strategies, such as developmental screening or surveillance and intervention, may be implemented from birth onwards for at risk populations with the aim of eliminating or reducing the resultant communication delays. The impact of prevention strategies may be strengthened by prioritising the identification of risk factors that may predispose communication delays or disorders in infants in underserved communities. Early intervention, including developmental screening and/or surveillance, in underserved communities is, however, hindered by financial constraints and by a lack of the necessary resources to implement family-centred services (Olusanya, Ruben, & Parving, 2006).
Early identification of developmental delays and disability, as a secondary prevention strategy, is widely acknowledged as the optimal way to minimize the adverse consequences hereof, and to maximize developmental outcomes (Feldman, 2004; Kritzinger & Louw, 2002; Slemming & Saloojee, 2013). Apart from benefitting at risk infants, early detection programs as a needs assessment enable government agencies to determine the incidence of delays or disorders, facilitating appropriate planning.
1. INTRODUCTION
1.1 RISK FACTORS AND COMMUNICATION DELAYS
1.2 PRIMARY HEALTH CARE (PHC) IN SOUTH AFRICA.
1.3 DEVELOPMENTAL SCREENING AND/OR SURVEILLANCE.
1.4 PROBLEM STATEMENT AND RATIONALE
2 METHOD
2.1 RESEARCH OBJECTIVES
2.2 RESEARCH STUDIES
2.3 RESEARCH CONTEXT.
2.4 RESEARCH DESIGN
2.5 MATERIALS
2.6 ETHICAL CONSIDERATIONS
3 DEVELOPMENTAL SCREENING IN SOUTH AFRICA: COMPARING THE NATIONAL DEVELOPMENTAL CHECKLIST TO A STANDARDIZED TOOL
3.1 ABSTRACT: .
3.2 INTRODUCTION
3.3 METHOD.
3.4 RESULTS
3.5 DISCUSSION
3.6 CONCLUSION
3.7 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
4 RISKS ASSOCIATED WITH COMMUNICATION DELAYS IN INFANTS FROM UNDERSERVED SOUTH AFRICAN COMMUNITIES
4.1 ABSTRACT
4.2 INTRODUCTION.
4.3 METHODs and design.
4.5 DISCUSSION
4.6 CONCLUSION
4.7 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
4.8 Competing interests
5 PREVALENCE AND NATURE OF COMMUNICATION DELAYS IN A SOUTH AFRICAN PRIMARY HEALTH CARE CONTEXT
5.1 ABSTRACT
5.2 INTRODUCTION
5.3 METHOD.
5.4 RESULTS.
5.5 DISCUSSION
5.6 CONCLUSION
5.7 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS.
6 EARLY DETECTION OF COMMUNICATION DELAYS WITH THE PEDS TOOLS IN AT-RISK SOUTH AFRICAN INFANTS
7 GENERAL DISCUSSION, CLINICAL IMPLICATIONS AND CONCLUSION
8 REFERENCES
