The Prevalence of Developmental Delays among Infants and Young Children in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

Abstract

Several studies emphasized the importance of developmental and readiness testing as that would
enable early identification of those who need support or further assessment. Besides, researches showed
that children who were at risk or who experienced delayed development and who had been in early
intervention acquired positive gains in development. In this connection, this study was conducted to screen
for developmental delays among infants and young children in Addis Ababa. To achieve this objective,
descriptive survey study was conducted. A sample of 1,062 infants and young children were randomly
selected from Bole, Addis Ketema and Kolfe Keraniyo sub-cities. Infants and young children’s
development was assessed using Ages and Stages Questionnaire – Amharic version. Besides, the
characteristics of home environment, maternal and child conditions were gathered with the questionnaire
set for this purpose. The data collected were analyzed through frequencies and percentages. The results
of the investigation revealed that 28.13% of infants and young children involved in this research revealed
global developmental delay and more delayed development was observed in fine motor domain as 30.53%
of children showed delayed development in this domain, which was followed by personal social domain
(21.15%) and problem solving domain (18.28%). Possible reasons for these delays are discussed.