Pragati Pustak – A parent-oriented screening tool for identification of developmental delay in children till 2 years of age

INTRODUCTION: To empower the parents to detect developmental delay in the early stage of a child's life, a community-oriented tool was developed. This tool primarily aimed at helping parents of children till 2 years of age to monitor the development of their child and if there is any red flag signs which indicated that the child needs health care. Early identification of this delay is important in reducing the complications and its related morbidity and disability. METHOD: Twelve villages around the institute were covered wherein the parents of children till 2 years of age were contacted by a team of physiotherapy and were provided with this Pragati Pustak. It is a card on which information about normal developmental milestones is provided along with the red flag signs in the pictorial format. Information about the use of this tool was provided. RESULT: Parents found it easy to use this card and were comfortable in using the card. Physiotherapy team identified 49 children with developmental delay during their visit to these villages. These children were then treated in the institute for their developmental delay. CONCLUSION: Pragati Pustak is an effective tool which can be used by parents effectively to monitor developmental milestones of their child.