Developmental Milestones

An essential component when evaluating growth and development of infants and children is the assessment of developmental milestones. Achievement of developmental milestones should be assessed at each primary care visit. Assessment of developmental milestones should include observation and interaction with the infant or child by the nurse practitioner throughout the primary care visit, discussion with the parent or primary caregiver, and screening with more objective screening tools (e.g., Denver Developmental Screening Test), as indicated. It should be remembered that evaluation of developmental milestones is not considered diagnostic, but may indicate the need for further screening and/or intervention. Assessment of developmental milestones usually includes physical/motor, cognitive/language, and social/emotional development (Bickley, 2003, p. 647).

References/Resources related to Assessment of Developmental Milestones:

American Academy of Pediatrics. (2005). Children's health topics: Developmental stages. Available at: www.aap.org/healthtopics/stages.cfm

Bickley, L.S., & Szilagyi, P.G. (2003). Assessing children: Infancy through adolescence. In Bates guide to physical examination and history taking (8th ed., pp. 623-782). Philadelphia: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins.

Dillion, P.M. (2003). Assessing the newborn and infant. In Nursing health assessment: A critical thinking, case studies approach (pp. 748-782). Philadelphia: F.A. Davis.

Hockenberry, M.J. (2003). Physical and developmental assessment of the child. In Wong's nursing care of infants and children (7th ed., pp. 233-238). St. Louis: Mosby.