Assessment of Activities of Daily Living in Infants and Children with Developmental Disabilities

ABSTRACT

Children with developmental disabilities may need extra care due to delayed development of self-care skills and/or a need for special care. Delayed self-care skills mean that care needs that are expected to diminish in typically developing children, persist. Whether a child is independent in an aspect of self-care would be dependent on his chronological and developmental age, developmental disability and the associated impairments, as well as cultural and other environmental factors, such as the child’s gender, the presence of a domestic helper, early attendance at preschool. Family circumstances should also be taken into consideration. The functional assessment of ADL in infants and children with developmental disabilities has been distilled into the domains of Washing/Bathing, Dressing, Feeding, Toileting, Transferring and Mobility. They reflect the activities that occur in the typical day in the life of a child. Common developmental disabilities and possible effects on acquisition of independent ADL are discussed.