she adds that historically, the guidelines state children should have at least 50 words by 24 months but the update has moved the skill to 30 months before parents should be concerned — a change that could result in some children falling through the cracks.
“that six-month period is so precious to a child’s brain development,” she says. “to miss that time is a travesty.”
the cdc says that the changes shouldn’t result in delayed treatment as they are designed to encourage more clear, open conversations regarding childhood development. the decision to
seek treatment
should come as a result of these conversations between caregivers and healthcare providers who are more closely acquainted with the nuances of the individual child.
“cdc has not lowered the standards of early childhood development,” reads a cdc statement provided to
healthing
. “cdc’s milestones are not developmental screening tools, nor are they new standards or guidelines; they are communication tools that aim to promote developmental monitoring and to encourage conversations between parents, doctors, and early childhood providers about child development.”
the update also introduced new checklists for children aged 15 and 30 months, added more social milestones and eliminated duplicate milestones that were causing confusion. the checklist now includes open-ended questions intended to encourage conversations between caregivers and health care providers. evidence for developmental milestones were also reviewed and milestones without sufficient modern evidence were removed.
while the
review
for developmental milestones was conducted by eight subject-matter experts including “developmental-behavioural, neurodevelopmental, and general pediatricians; child and developmental psychologists; and a professor of special education and early intervention,” dwyer points out the aap did not consult specific bodies like the american speech and hearing association.
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