Neuropsychomotor development assessment of children aged 0 to 5 in early childhood public education centers

Abstract

ABSTRACT Purpose: to investigate the neuropsychomotor development, as well as nutritional and cognitive/emotional aspects of children aged 0 to 5, attending early childhood education centers, aiming at early identification and prevention of risks and delays in children’s development. Methods: the population studied was composed of 85 children attending two early childhood education centers. The children’s development approach was contextual, by means of ludic physical therapy assessment, by using the DENVER II scale; complementary assessments of their nutritional status were also performed, based on anthropometric measurements of weight and height, as well as evaluations of the cognitive/emotional development aspects through the Free Hand Drawing and Human Figure Drawing Tests. Results: neuropsychomotor development was found to be within normal range in 69.41% of the children and questionable in 30.58% of them. The significant variable affecting the result was found to be the class in which some children were inserted. In the scale utilized, the best performance was considered to be the gross motor skills (7.69%) and the most questionable performance occurred in the language skills (58.85%). As for nutritional data, it was discovered that 27.06% of the children had some nutritional risk, 22.35% had obesity risk and 4.71%, malnutrition risk. In the cognitive/emotional analysis, the result was that 34.37% of the children presented signs of difficulties related to adaptation and socialization or self-esteem. Conclusion: in the present study, about one-third of the children participating presented questionable neuropsychomotor development, especially in the field of language; in this regard, the class to which the children belong may constitute a barrier to their development. These children presented nutritional risks, with a tendency towards obesity, as well as the possible difficulties regarding adaptation and socialization or self-esteem.