Establishing New Norms for Developmental Milestones

Abstract

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Pediatric surveillance of young children depends on providers’ assessment of developmental milestones, yet normative data are sparse. Our objectives were to develop new norms for common milestones to aid in clinical interpretation of milestone attainment. METHODS: We analyzed responses to the developmental screening form of the Survey of Well-being of Young Children from 41 465 screens across 3 states. Associations between developmental status and a range of child characteristics were analyzed, and norms for individual questions were compared to guidelines regarding attainment of critical milestones from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). RESULTS: A contemporary resource of normative data for developmental milestone attainment was established. Lower developmental status was associated with child age in the presence of positive behavioral screening scores (P < .01), social determinants of health (P < .01), Medicaid (P < .01), male sex (P < .01), and child race (P < .01). Comparisons between Survey of Well-being of Young Children developmental questions and CDC guidelines reveal that a high percentage of children are reported to pass milestones by the age at which the CDC states that “most children pass” and that an even higher percentage of children are reported to pass milestones by the age at which the CDC states that parents should “act early.” An interactive data visualization tool that can assist clinicians in real-time developmental screening and surveillance interpretation is also provided. CONCLUSIONS: Detailed normative data on individual developmental milestones can help clinicians guide caregivers’ expectations for milestone attainment, thereby offering greater specificity to CDC guidelines.