Title: Pre- to post-training change in childcare provider belief that developmental monitoring is important and ability to identify appropriate referrals to make when there is a developmental concern
Legend: Training in developmental monitoring significantly increases childcare providers’ ability to identify the child’s doctor as an important referral, and their ability to name at least one or both of two appropriate referrals, when there is a concern about a child’s development.
Citation: Chodron, G., B. Barger, K. Barnekow, S. Viehweg, A. Puk-Ament. (in press). “‘Watch Me!’ training increases knowledge and impacts attitudes related to developmental monitoring and referral among childcare providers”. Maternal and Child Health Journal.
Abstract: Objectives – To evaluate the impact of “Watch Me!” developmental monitoring training on childcare providers’ knowledge and attitudes related to monitoring developmental milestones and making recommended referrals when there is a concern about a child’s development. Methods – A pretest-posttest design using web-based surveys was used to assess the impact of “Watch Me!” training on knowledge and attitudes related to conducting five key components of developmental monitoring (tracking development, recognizing delays, talking to parents about development, talking to parents about concerns, and making referrals). Variables included belief that developmental monitoring is important and is part of child care provider role; perceived knowledge of, and access to tools for, and prioritization of developmental monitoring; and ability to list recommended referrals when there is a concern. Results – Childcare providers demonstrated a significant pre-post increase in perceived knowledge and access to the tools to engage in five core components of developmental monitoring after completing “Watch Me!” training. There was also a significant pre-post increase in childcare providers’ ability to name the child’s doctor as an appropriate referral (39% pre to 63% post), but not in the ability to name Part C/Part B programs as an appropriate referral (56% pre to 58% post).
About the Lab: The mission of the Waisman Center’s University Center for Excellence in Developmental Disabilities (UCEDD) is to support the full inclusion and self determination of people with developmental disabilities and their families.