Method and system for assessing a child's developmental age

Abstract

To provide an improved system for generating an evaluation of the developmental age of children through the assessment of six developmental domains and a method implemented by the same.SOLUTION: The method includes the steps for: selecting a first question set to generate a first question list corresponding to a first age range (S201); calculating a first score for the first question list (S202); selecting a second question set from the question pool selected in the step S201 to generate a second question list on the basis of the first calculated score in step S202 (S203); calculating a second score for the second question list (S204); determining the developmental age of a child in the corresponding developmental area on the basis of the second calculation score in the step 204 (S205); repeating the steps S201 to S205 to generate an evaluation (S206).SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present disclosure relates to a method and system for assessing a child's developmental age. More specifically, the present disclosure relates to a novel method for determining developmental delay (DD) in a child by assessing multiple developmental domains and treating children with DD through early intervention. [Background technology]

[0002] The incidence of developmental delays in children is increasing year by year. In addition to congenital factors, the influence of postnatal environmental factors that lead to developmental delays is also a major concern. The effectiveness of treating developmental delays in children depends on whether caregivers identify the problem, seek early help, and address the problem by enabling relevant therapeutic interventions. Meanwhile, changes in family structure and childcare forms in modern society have also brought about unfavorable environmental factors that may accelerate developmental delays.

[0003] The child development assessment tools currently used in clinics are relatively limited and simplified. They are only valid for individuals who already show significant signs of developmental delay, but are inadequate to assess and monitor during the early stages of development. Furthermore, the lack of a comprehensive and integrated longitudinal follow-up system impedes the efficient use of medical and social resources across various settings.

[0004] In view of the above, there exists a need in the related art for novel systems for comprehensive assessment of child development and methods for treating children in need through early intervention. Summary of the Invention

[0005] The following presents a simplified summary of the disclosure in order to provide the reader with a basic understanding. This summary is not an exhaustive overview of the disclosure, nor does it identify key / critical elements of the invention or delineate the scope of the invention. Its sole purpose is to present some concepts disclosed herein in a simplified form as a prelude to the more detailed description that is presented later.

[0006] As embodied and broadly described herein, it is an object of the present disclosure to provide a novel system and method for determining a child's developmental age through the assessment of six developmental domains utilizing a feedback loop. As a result, the system of the present disclosure can provide accurate and timely information about a child's neurological development, so that appropriate treatment can be intervened in a timely manner for children in need.

[0007] In one aspect, the disclosure is directed to a system for generating a developmental age assessment for a child utilizing assessments in six developmental domains. The system includes a user interface configured to receive externally input answers, a storage device configured to provide six question pools corresponding to the six developmental domains, each question pool comprising a plurality of questions independently corresponding to an age range of 0-72 months of age, and a processor in communication with the user interface and the storage device.

[0008] According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, a processor includes steps of: (a) selecting a first set of questions corresponding to the same age range from one of the question pools stored in the storage device to generate a first list of questions corresponding to a first age range; (b) calculating a first score for the first list of questions based on externally input answers to the first list of questions in step (a); and (c) generating a second list of questions based on the first calculated score in step (b) by selecting a second set of questions from the selected question pool in step (a), wherein the second set of questions is different from the first set of questions. The computer-implemented program is configured to execute the programmed instructions by performing the operations of: (a) calculating a second score for the second set of questions based on the externally entered answers to the second set of questions in step (c), the second set of questions corresponding to a second age range that is either elevated or elevated relative to the first age range; (b) calculating a second score for the second set of questions based on the externally entered answers to the second set of questions in step (c); (c) determining the child's developmental age in the corresponding developmental domain based on the second calculated score in step (d); and (d) repeating steps (a)-(e) until a developmental age for each developmental domain has been collected, thereby generating an assessment for the child's developmental age. In a preferred and effective embodiment, each age range differs from the next age range by two months.

[0009] In some advantageous embodiments, in step (a) of the processor-implemented operations, the first age range encompasses the child's chronological age.

[0010] According to one embodiment of the present disclosure, in step (c) of the processor-performed operations, if the first calculated score in step (b) is lower than the standard score, a second age range corresponding to a second list of questions is decreased relative to the first age range.

[0011] Therefore, after the operation step (d), if the first calculated score in step (b) is lower than the standard score, the operation further comprises the step of (di) repeating the step of generating at least one new question list by selecting a new question set different from the first and second question sets until the calculated score is higher than the standard score for the first time, the new question list corresponding to a new age range lower than the previous one.Furthermore, in the processor-performed operation step (e), the child's developmental age in the corresponding developmental domain is determined based on the new age range corresponding to the new question list. Specifically, if the child's developmental age is lower than the child's chronological age, the child is determined to have developmental delay (DD) in the corresponding developmental domain.

[0012] According to another embodiment of the present disclosure, in step (c) of the processor-performed operations, if the first calculated score in step (b) is higher than the standard score, a second age range corresponding to a second list of questions is increased relative to the first age range.

[0013] Thus, in step (d) of the processor-performed operations, if the first calculated score in step (b) is higher than the standard score, the child's developmental age is determined based on the second calculated score in step (d), where the developmental age is equivalent to a second age range corresponding to the second list of questions in step (c).

[0014] According to some advantageous embodiments, in step (e), if the second calculated score in step (d) is lower than the standard score, the child's developmental age is determined to be consistent with the child's chronological age. According to other advantageous embodiments, in step (e), if the second calculated score in step (d) is higher than the standard score, the child's developmental age is determined to be higher than the child's chronological age.

[0015] According to some embodiments of the present disclosure, the processor of the system is further configured to perform an operation of performing automatic detection for the reliability and validity assessment of steps (a) to (e). In one advantageous embodiment, the automatic detection is performed by performing a deep learning algorithm.

[0016] In some embodiments of the present disclosure, the first and second sets of questions each have a number of four or less.

[0017] In another aspect, the disclosure relates to a method for determining and treating developmental delay (DD) in children through assessment of six developmental domains, the method comprising the steps of: (a) providing six question pools respectively corresponding to six developmental domains, each question pool comprising a plurality of questions independently corresponding to an age range of 0-72 months of age; (b) selecting a first set of questions corresponding to the same age range from one of the question pools in step (a) to generate a first list of questions corresponding to the first age range; (c) calculating a first score for the first list of questions based on answers received to the first list of questions in step (b); and (d) generating a second list of questions based on the first calculated score in step (c) by selecting a second set of questions from the selected question pool in step (b), The method includes the steps of: (e) calculating a second score for the second list of questions based on the answers received to the second list of questions in step (d); (f) determining the child's developmental age in the corresponding developmental domain based on the second calculated score in step (e); (g) repeating steps (b) to (f) until developmental ages for all six developmental domains have been collected, thereby determining the degree of the child's DD; and (h) providing early intervention to treat the child's DD based on the degree of DD determined in step (g).

[0018] In some advantageous embodiments, each age range differs from the next age range by two months.

[0019] In another advantageous embodiment, the first age range includes the child's chronological age.

[0020] According to one embodiment of the present disclosure, the first and second sets of questions each have a number of four or less.

[0021] According to one embodiment of the present disclosure, in step (d) of the method, if the first calculated score in step (c) is lower than the standard score, a second age range corresponding to a second list of questions is decreased relative to the first age range.

[0022] Therefore, after step (e), the method further comprises the step of: (ei) repeating, if the first calculated score in step (c) is lower than the standard score, generating at least one new list of questions by selecting a new set of questions different from the first and second sets of questions, until the calculated score is higher than the standard score for the first time, the new list of questions corresponding to a new age range that is lowered with respect to the previous one.

[0023] Thus, in step (f) of the method, the child's developmental age in the corresponding developmental domain is determined based on the new age range corresponding to the new list of questions. In a preferred and advantageous embodiment, if the child's developmental age is lower than the child's chronological age, the child is determined to have DD in the corresponding developmental domain.

[0024] According to another embodiment of the present disclosure, if the first calculated score in step (c) is higher than the standard score, a second age range corresponding to a second list of questions is increased relative to the first age range.

[0025] Thus, in some preferred embodiments, if the first calculated score in step (c) is higher than the standard score, step (f) of the method further comprises: (fi) determining a developmental age of the child based on the second calculated score in step (e), the developmental age being equivalent to a second age range corresponding to the second list of questions in step (d).

[0026] According to an advantageous embodiment of the present disclosure, in step (fi), if the second calculated score in step (e) is lower than the standard score, the child's developmental age is determined to be consistent with the child's chronological age. Alternatively, further in step (fi), if the second calculated score in step (e) is higher than the standard score, the child's developmental age is determined to be higher than the child's chronological age.

[0027] According to some embodiments of the present disclosure, examples of early intervention in step (h) include speech therapy, occupational therapy (OT), physical therapy (PT), behavioral therapy, early childhood special education (ECSE), sensory integration therapy, psychotherapy, augmentative and alternative communication (AAC), and combinations thereof.

[0028] In some alternative or optional embodiments of the present disclosure, the method further comprises performing an automatic detection for the assessment of the reliability and validity of steps (b)-(f). In some advantageous implementations, the automatic detection is performed by performing a deep learning algorithm.

[0029] With the above configuration, the system and method for assessing a child's developmental age and treating a child with developmental delay can provide timely and accurate information about a child's development, thereby improving the efficiency and accuracy of early intervention for developmentally delayed children.

[0030] Many of the attendant features and advantages of the present disclosure will become better understood by reference to the following detailed description considered in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

[0031] The present description will be better understood from the following detailed description read in light of the accompanying drawings. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0032] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram illustrating a system 10 according to one embodiment of the present disclosure. [Diagram 2] FIG. 2 is a flow chart of a method 20 implemented in the system 10 according to one embodiment of the present disclosure. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0033] In accordance with common practice, the various illustrated features / elements are not drawn to scale, but are instead illustrated in a manner that best illustrates the particular features / elements relevant to the present invention, and like reference numbers and designations in the various drawings are used to indicate like elements / portions.

[0034] The detailed description given below in connection with the accompanying drawings is intended as a description of the present embodiment and is not intended to represent the only manner in which the present embodiment may be constructed or utilized. The description sets forth functions of the embodiment and sequences of steps for constructing and operating the embodiment, although the same or equivalent functions and sequences may be accomplished by different embodiments.

[0035] 1.Definition For convenience, certain terms employed in the specification, examples, and appended claims are collected here. Unless otherwise defined, all technical and scientific terms used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which this invention belongs.

[0036] The singular forms "a," "an," and "the" are used herein to include plural references unless the context clearly dictates otherwise.

[0037] The term "child" or "children" as used herein refers to a human being who is generally in the early stages of development and is under the age of 6. As used in this disclosure, the term "children" is intended to encompass infants between the ages of birth and 12 months, toddlers between the ages of 1-3, preschoolers between the ages of 3-5, and school-age children aged 6 years.

[0038] The term "age range" as used herein refers to a specific time interval defined within a given period of time. According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the age ranges are equally spaced within the range of 0 to 72 months (i.e., less than 6 years old). For example, each interval may be 1 month, 2 months, or 3 months, with no overlap between each age range and the following age range. According to one advantageous embodiment, the age ranges are 2 months.

[0039] The term "developmental domain" as used herein refers to various modalities used to measure various aspects of a child's physiological and psychological growth and development. Exemplary developmental domains primarily include physical, cognitive, language, and social-emotional domains. According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the six developmental domains used in the present assessment are specifically gross motor skills, fine motor skills, language comprehension, language expression, cognitive, and social-emotional development.

[0040] The term "developmental age" as used herein refers to the developmental age determined by the system for a child who has undergone a developmental assessment as described in this disclosure. The determination is based on answers provided by the assessed child in response to questions that reflect the developmental stage exhibited in each of the six developmental domains. Depending on the assessment, the developmental age may or may not coincide with the child's actual physiological age (i.e., chronological age).

[0041] The term "developmental delay (DD)" as used herein encompasses not only clinically identifiable signs or symptoms of developmental disorders, but also a condition in which a child has not reached the developmental status expected for the child's actual chronological age, as assessed through the present systems and / or methods of the present disclosure. Specifically, if the developmental age in a particular developmental domain is delayed compared to the child's chronological age after assessment through the present methods and / or systems, he / she will be identified as having developmental delay (DD).

[0042] As used herein, the terms "treat," "treating," and "treament" are used interchangeably and include partially or completely intervening, preventing, ameliorating, mitigating, and / or managing signs, symptoms, disorders, or conditions associated with child developmental delay.

[0043] 2. Description of the Invention Clinically, a child's developmental status is assessed through six developmental domains, including gross motor skills, fine motor skills, language comprehension, language expression, cognition, and social-emotional development. In order to improve the accuracy of the assessment results, the present invention aims to provide a comprehensive assessment system with the ability to self-assess feedback of reliability and validity, thereby facilitating timely monitoring and early intervention. Also provided herein is a method for determining and treating developmental delay (DD) in children utilizing the aforementioned system and method.

[0044] 2.1 System and method for assessing a child's developmental age One aspect of the present disclosure is to provide a system and method for assessing a child's developmental age. Please refer to FIGS. 1 and 2.

[0045] FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a system 10 implementing a method 20 of the present disclosure, while FIG. 2 is a flowchart of the method 20 performed by the system 10. The system 10 comprises a user interface 110, a storage device 120, and a processor 130, each of which is coupled to the processor 130. According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the user interface 110 is configured to receive answers inputted externally by a user. In an embodiment of the present disclosure, the user interface 110 exists as a computer window or an online web page. The storage device 120 is configured to store six question pools, each of which corresponds to six developmental domains, each of which comprises a plurality of questions. The processor 130 is configured to execute programmed instructions to generate an assessment for a child's developmental age utilizing a plurality of questions from each of the question pools stored in the storage device 120.

[0046] In some embodiments, the storage device 120 is configured to store a database of a plurality of questionnaires. Examples of storage devices 120 suitable for use in the present disclosure include, but are not limited to, hard disk drives, solid state drives, external drives, online storage, blockchain storage, and the like. The processor 130 is programmed with instructions to execute the present method of assessing developmental age for a child, which is described in detail in the following paragraphs. Preferably, the user interface 110, the storage device 120, and the processor 130 are integrated into one piece of hardware. Alternatively, they may exist as separate devices located in different locations and communicatively connected to each other via a network, such as by a local area network (LAN), a wide area network (WAN), the Internet, or a wireless network. According to an embodiment, the user interface 110 may be in the form of an online web page, allowing external users (e.g., clinicians, parents, educators, and therapists) to interact with the present system 10 and / or method 20.

[0047] Please refer to FIG. 2 which shows a flow chart of a method 20 implemented by the system 10 for generating a child's developmental age rating using the six developmental domain ratings. The method 20 includes the following steps (see reference numbers S201 to S206 shown in FIG. 2): S201: A step of selecting a first set of questions corresponding to the same age range from one of the question pools stored in a storage device to generate a first question list corresponding to a first age range; S202: calculating a first score for the first question list based on the answers input from outside to the first question list in step S201; S203: generating a second list of questions based on the first calculated score in step S202 by selecting a second set of questions from the selected pool of questions in step S201, the second set of questions being different from the first set of questions, the second list of questions corresponding to a second age range that is up or down relative to the first age range; S204: calculating a second score for the second list of questions based on the answers input from outside to the second list of questions in step S203; S205: determining the child's developmental age in the corresponding developmental domain based on the second calculated score in step S204; and S206: Repeating steps S201-S205 until developmental ages for all six developmental domains are collected, thereby generating an assessment for the child's developmental age.

[0048] According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the six developmental domains are gross motor skills, fine motor skills, language comprehension, language expression, cognition, and social-emotional development, respectively. A plurality of questions corresponding to each developmental domain are pre-created based on the expertise and clinical knowledge of the relevant technology, and stored as individual question pools in the storage device 120 of the present system 10.

[0049] According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, each question stored in the storage device 120 independently corresponds to an age range from 0 months to 72 months of age, such as 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50, 51, 52, 53, 54, 55, 56, 57, 58, 59, 60, 61, 62, 63, 64, 65, 66, 67, 68, 69, 70, 71 or 72 months of age. The age ranges of the present disclosure are intervals of months within the age range of 0 to 72 months, such as intervals of 1 month, 2 months, 3 months, 4 months, 5 months, 6 months, 8 months, 10 months, or 12 months. In some embodiments of the present disclosure, the age ranges are 2 months within the age range of 0 to 72 months, and preferably each age range differs from the next age range by 2 months. In one advantageous embodiment, the age ranges are 0 to 2 months, 2 to 4 months, 4 to 6 months, 6 to 8 months, 8 to 10 months, 10 to 12 months, 12 to 14 months, 14 to 16 months, 16 to 18 months, 18 to 20 months, 20 to 22 months, 22 to 24 months, 24 to 26 months, 26 to 28 months, 28 to 30 months, 30 to 32 months, 32 to 34 months, 34 to 36 months, 35 to 36 months, 36 to 38 months, 37 to 39 months, 38 to 40 months, 39 to 41 months, 41 to 42 months, 42 to 43 months, 43 to 44 months, 44 to 45 months, 45 to 46 months, 46 to 47 months, 47 to 48 months, 48 ​​to 49 months, 49 to 50 months, 50 to 51 months, 51 to 52 months, 52 to 53 months, 53 to 54 months, 54 to 55 months, 55 to 56 months, 56 to 57 months, 57 to 58 months, 58 to 59 months, 59 to 60 months, 60 to 61 months, 61 to 62 ages, 36-38 months, 38-40 months, 40-42 months, 42-44 months, 44-46 months, 46-48 months, 48-50 months, 50-52 months, 52-54 months, 54-56 months, 56-58 months, 58-60 months, 60-62 months, 62-64 months, 64-66 months, 66-68 months, 68-70 months and 70-72 months.

[0050] Thus, in step S201, a first set of questions is selected from one of the question pools corresponding to one of the developmental domains, in which all selected questions correspond to the same age range of 0-72 months as mentioned above, thereby generating a first list of questions corresponding to a first age range. The first age range may be determined according to practical needs, and in one advantageous embodiment, the first age range encompasses the chronological age of the tested child.

[0051] According to some embodiments of the present disclosure, the first list of questions is presented through the user interface 110 of the system 10, and similarly, external responses to the questions (i.e., answers to the questions entered by the user) are collected via the user interface 110. The method 20 performed by the processor 130 then proceeds to a calculation step, where a first score for the first list of questions is calculated based on the collected answers (step S202).

[0052] According to some preferred embodiments of the present disclosure, in step S202, a standard score for each set of questions may be pre-determined based on general knowledge and standards known in the art. Thus, the first score calculated in step S202 is compared with the standard score, with or without weighting, thereby generating a second list of questions based on the comparison result (S203). In one embodiment, the second list of questions is generated by selecting a second set of questions from the same pool of questions in step S201, in particular, the second set of questions is different from the first set of questions, and the second list of questions corresponds to a second age range different from the first age range (step S203). According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the second age range is raised or lowered with respect to the first age range. In an advantageous embodiment, if the first calculated score in step S202 is lower than the standard score, a second list of questions for a second age range lowered with respect to the first age range is generated and presented to the user through the same user interface 110 (S203). Alternatively, if the first calculated score in step S202 is equal to and / or higher than the standard score, a second list of questions for a second age range that is elevated relative to the first age range is generated (S203) and presented to the user via the user interface 110.

[0053] Similar to step S202, in S204, a second list of questions is displayed via the user interface 110. Responses externally entered by the user are collected through the same user interface 110 and transmitted to the processor 130, enabling the processor 130 to calculate a second score. After the second score is calculated, the child's developmental age in the corresponding developmental domain is determined (S205).

[0054] In some embodiments of the present disclosure, the first and second sets of questions selected to generate the first and second lists of questions may comprise the same or different numbers of questions. Preferably, each set of questions includes four or fewer questions, more preferably, three or fewer questions. In one advantageous embodiment, the first and second sets of questions independently include four questions.

[0055] According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the method and / or system may determine the developmental age of each child being assessed based on a comparison between the calculated score and a standard score via implementing one of two options (I) and (II) described below.

[0056] (I) A first calculated score that is lower than the standard score If the first calculated score in step S202 is lower than the standard score, provide a second list of questions with a second age range that is lowered relative to the first age range. At this point, verify the second score for the second list of questions, and select a new set of questions from the same pool of questions that are different from those previously answered to generate a new list of questions. Specifically, if the second calculated score is even lower than the standard score, the method will proceed to select a new set of questions (e.g., a third set of questions) from the same pool of questions, as described above in step S203, to generate another new list of questions (e.g., a third list of questions). According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the criteria for selecting the third set of questions is the same as that described in step S201 or S203, and the age range of the third list of questions is even lower relative to the second list of questions. If the third score is even lower than the standard score, the method will continue to generate another new list of questions until the calculated score of any given list of questions is higher than that of the standard score for the first time. In other words, after several iterations of selecting question sets with descending age ranges, the question selection process stops when a selected question set appears that has a score higher than the standard score, at which point the age range that corresponds to the selected question set is determined as the developmental age of the child being tested.

[0057] In this process, a child is identified as having developmental delay (DD) in each developmental domain if the child's developmental age is lower than his / her chronological age.

[0058] (II) A first calculated score equal to or greater than the standard score Alternatively, if the first calculated score in step S202 is higher than the standard score, the method proceeds to generate a second list of questions in which the second age range is raised relative to the first age range (i.e., the second age range is higher than the first age range) (step S203). After receiving the externally input answers to the second list of questions and calculating the second score, the child's developmental age is determined based on a comparison between the second score and the standard score. In one advantageous embodiment, the second score in step S204 is lower than the standard score, and the child's developmental age is determined to be consistent with the child's chronological age. In an alternative advantageous embodiment, the second score calculated in step S204 is higher than the standard score, and the child's developmental age is determined to be higher than the child's chronological age. In this approach, the child's developmental age in one developmental domain is obtained.

[0059] The strategies outlined in options (I) or (II) are implemented independently by sequentially responding to questions selected from the six developmental domains for the tested child. By repeating steps S201-S205, a developmental age for each developmental domain is collected to generate an assessment for the child's developmental age (step S206).

[0060] Additionally or optionally, the method may further perform an automatic evaluation of the reliability and validity of steps S201-S205, such that the credibility of the selected questions is verified. The reliability and validity evaluation may be performed automatically by tools and algorithms known in the art according to practical needs. In some advantageous embodiments, the automatic evaluation is performed by performing a deep learning algorithm. Examples of deep learning algorithms suitable for use in the present system and method include, but are not limited to, neural networks, decision trees, random forests, logistic regression, support vector machines, principal component analysis, k-means, and combinations thereof. In one advantageous embodiment, the automatic evaluation is performed by a support vector machine.

[0061] 2.2 How to determine and treat developmental delays The present disclosure also aims to provide treatment to children determined to have developmental delay (DD). To this end, the above-described methods and systems can be utilized to assist clinicians in making accurate determinations regarding the developmental age of a child, so that a child identified as having DD can be treated in a timely manner (e.g., via administration of treatment). Thus, the present disclosure encompasses methods of determining and treating developmental delay (DD) in children under the age of 72 months (or 6 years).

[0062] According to some embodiments of the present disclosure, a method includes: (a) providing six question pools corresponding respectively to six developmental domains, each question pool comprising a plurality of questions independently corresponding to an age range of 0-72 months; (b) selecting a first set of questions corresponding to the same age range from one of the question pools in step (a) to generate a first list of questions corresponding to the first age range; (c) calculating a first score for the first list of questions based on the answers received to the first list of questions in step (b); (d) generating a second list of questions based on the first calculated scores in step (c) by selecting a second set of questions from the selected pool of questions in step (b), the second set of questions being different from the first set of questions, the second list of questions corresponding to a second age range that is up or down relative to the first age range; (e) calculating a second score for the second list of questions based on the answers received to the second list of questions in step (d); (f) determining the child's developmental age in the corresponding developmental domain based on the second calculated score in step (e); (g) repeating steps (b)-(f) until a developmental age for each developmental domain has been collected, thereby determining the degree of DD for the child; and (h) providing early intervention to treat the child's DD based on the results of step (g). Equipped with.

[0063] The method starts by providing six question pools corresponding to six developmental areas, each of which includes a number of questions that can be created or designed to verify a child's development. According to an effective embodiment of the present disclosure, the six question pools are stored in the storage device 120 of the system 10. Then, a first set of questions corresponding to the same age range is selected from one of the six question pools to generate a first list of questions corresponding to the first age range (step (a)). Note that in a preferred effective embodiment, the first age range includes the child's chronological age. Based on a first score calculated from the answers entered by the child tested to the first list of questions, a second list of questions corresponding to another appropriate age range is further generated. Then, based on a second score calculated from the answers to the second list of questions, the child's developmental age is finally determined through the procedure described above in section 2.1 of this document.

[0064] According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, a list of questions from six question pools (each question pool corresponding to one of the six developmental domains) is to be tested by repeating the above steps (b)-(f), thereby comprehensively determining the degree of DD of the tested child. Specifically, the proportion of DD in the six developmental domains may be determined to be one-sixth, two-sixths, three-sixths, four-sixths, five-sixths, or all of the domains being DD.

[0065] Once a child is assessed as having DD in any of the developmental domains, appropriate intervention should be initiated, and the degree of the child's DD determined and confirmed by the present method (e.g., 1 / 6, 2 / 6, 3 / 6, etc.) is used as a reference for determining which early intervention should be applied to the child. Examples of early intervention suitable for use in the present method (i.e., for providing to children with DD) include, but are not limited to, speech therapy, occupational therapy (OT), physical therapy (PT), behavioral therapy, early childhood special education (ECSE), sensory integration therapy, psychotherapy, augmentative and alternative communication (AAC), and combinations thereof. Any clinical technician may select a treatment suitable for use in the present method based on factors such as the particular condition being treated, the severity of the condition, individual patient parameters (including age, physical condition, and sex), duration of treatment, nature of concomitant treatment (if any), specific environment, and similar factors within the knowledge and expertise of the medical practitioner. According to some embodiments of the present disclosure, in step (h), if the child shows DD in any of the developmental domains, early intervention through any combination of the above-mentioned treatments is required. For example, if a two-year-old child is determined to have 2 / 6 DD in the areas of language comprehension and expression, a combination of speech therapy and physical therapy would be administered to the child.

[0066] With the above features, the method may provide accurate assessment and determination of developmental delay for children, thereby improving the accuracy and efficiency of early treatment and intervention for developmentally delayed children. EXAMPLES

[0067] Example 1 Evaluation of the method for generating developmental assessments The purpose of this experiment is to demonstrate the performance and accuracy of the present system and method for performing developmental assessment. Therefore, statistical analysis is employed to analyze the assessment results across the six developmental domains and the overall system. The results are summarized in Tables 1 and 2, respectively. Table 1. Results of efficiency verification of this system in developmental assessment of six developmental areas [Table 1] Table 2. Efficiency verification results for the entire system [Table 2]

[0068] The results, shown in Tables 1 and 2, confirm that the system exhibits high accuracy in assessing children's developmental stages, either in individual domains or within the system as a whole.

[0069] By using the present methods and systems, a child's developmental age may be automatically determined and identified, thereby improving efficiency and accuracy in the diagnosis and early intervention of developmental delays.

[0070] It should be understood that the above description of the embodiments is given by way of example only, and that various modifications may be made by those skilled in the art. The above specification, examples and data provide a complete description of the structure and use of the exemplary embodiments of the invention. Although various embodiments of the invention have been described above with a certain degree of particularity or with reference to one or more specific embodiments, those skilled in the art could make numerous modifications to the disclosed embodiments without departing from the spirit or scope of the invention.

Claims

1. A system for generating an assessment of a child's developmental age using assessments in six developmental domains, comprising: a user interface configured to receive an externally input answer; a storage device configured to provide six question pools corresponding respectively to the six developmental domains, each question pool comprising a plurality of questions independently corresponding to an age range of 0-72 months encompassing the child's chronological age; a communication link connected to the user interface and the storage device; (a) selecting a first set of questions corresponding to a same age range from one of the question pools stored in the storage device to generate a first list of questions corresponding to a first age range; (b) calculating a first score for the first list of questions based on the answers input from the outside to the first list of questions in step (a); (c) generating a second list of questions based on the first calculated score in step (b) by selecting a second set of questions from the selected pool of questions in step (a), the second set of questions being different from the first set of questions, the second list of questions corresponding to a second age range that is up or down relative to the first age range; (d) calculating a second score for the second list of questions based on the answers input from the outside to the second list of questions in step (c); (e) determining a developmental age of the child in the corresponding developmental domain based on the second calculated score in step (d); (f) repeating steps (a)-(e) until the developmental ages for all six developmental domains have been collected, thereby generating the assessment for the child's developmental age; a processor configured to execute programmed instructions by performing the operations of A system comprising:

2. In step (c), If the first calculated score in step (b) is lower than the standard score, the second age range corresponding to the second list of questions is lowered relative to the first age range; or 2. The system of claim 1, wherein if the first calculated score in step (b) is higher than the standard score, the second age range corresponding to the second list of questions is increased relative to the first age range.

3. After step (d), 3. The system of claim 2, further comprising: (d-i) if the first calculated score in step (b) is lower than the standard score, repeating the steps of generating at least one new list of questions by selecting a new set of questions different from the first and second sets of questions until a calculated score is higher than the standard score for the first time, the new list of questions corresponding to a new age range that is lowered with respect to the previous one.

4. 4. The system of claim 3, wherein in step (e), the developmental age of the child in the corresponding developmental domain is determined based on the new age range corresponding to the new list of questions.

5. 5. The system of claim 4, wherein in step (e), if the developmental age of the child is lower than the child's chronological age, the child is determined to have developmental delay (DD) in the corresponding developmental domain.

6. 3. The system of claim 2, wherein in step (e), if the first calculated score in step (b) is higher than the standard score, the developmental age of the child is determined based on the second calculated score in step (d), and the developmental age is equivalent to the second age range corresponding to the second list of questions in step (c).

7. 7. The system of claim 6, wherein in step (e), if the second calculated score in step (d) is lower than the standard score, the developmental age of the child is determined to be consistent with the chronological age of the child.

8. 7. The system of claim 6, wherein in step (e), if the second calculated score in step (d) is higher than the standard score, the child's developmental age is determined to be higher than the child's chronological age.

9. The system of claim 1 , wherein the first and second question sets each comprise four or fewer questions.

10. The system of claim 1 , wherein each age range differs from the next age range by two months.

11. The system of claim 1 , wherein in step (a), the first age range encompasses the child's chronological age.

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