Prevalence of Developmental Delay in Apparently Normal Preschool Children in Isfahan,Central Iran

OBJECTIVE: Developmental delay screening is essential in pediatric medicine. The purpose of this study was to estimate the developmental delay in apparently normal children at entry to kindergarten. MATERIALS & METHODS: In this cross- sectional study conducted in 2013, the developmental status of a sample of children who entered to kindergarten at the age of 4-60 months were evaluated by the Persian version of ages and stages questionnaires (ASQ) in Isfahan county, central Iran. RESULTS: Totally 680 children were enrolled, 11.8% of them were suspected to delayed in at least one domain and 1.3% and 1.2% in two and three domains, respectively. Developmental delay was in the following items: 5% in problem solving; 4.9% in fine motor; 3.2% in gross motor, 2.2% and 1.2% in personal – social and communication domains, respectively. CONCLUSION: Considerable proportions of apparently normal children who are entering kindergarten had developmental delay, which could be detected by evaluation with appropriate screening tools.