Forty years of referrals and outcomes to a UK Child Development Centre (CDC): Has demand plateaued?

ConclusionWe are aware of no other comparable extant UK CDC database. Services should plan for a referral rate of 6.5 per 1,000 preschool children. Between 1974 and 2014, there has clearly been a change in recorded assessment outcomes. From the mid‐1980s, this reflects the change to a preschool assessment role and a shift away from purely educational outcome to include medical conditions.Covering 1974–2014, we demonstrate a clear increase in the number of referrals together with an increasing demand for assessments for social interaction and behavioural difficulties. This reflects the increased awareness of these neurodevelopmental difficulties and the changing diagnostic criteria which will now more likely result in an Autistic Spectrum Disorder diagnosis than previously. Together, these two features are most likely to have considerable implications for service development within Child Development Centres (CDCs) and Child Development Teams (CDTs).
Source: Child: Care, Health and Development - Category: Child Development Authors: Tags: ORIGINAL ARTICLE Source Type: research