Twelve tips for teaching child development and disability to medical students

Abstract

Child development is a marker of well-being in childhood and recognition of developmental delay allows timely investigation and intervention for children with developmental disabilities. Despite this, child development and disabilities are not given emphasis in the medical curriculum. This under representation of teaching combined with the stigma associated with disabilities contributes to the sub-optimal health care of people with disabilities. As well as, addressing the stigma of disability a medical undergraduate curriculum should include: the key concepts of child development; the clinical presentation of the most common developmental disabilities; developmental history taking and the infant neurodevelopmental examination. The following twelve tips provide practical advice about how to teach this knowledge and these skills during medical training.

Disclosure statement

The author reports no conflicts of interest. The author alone is responsible for the content and writing of this article.

Notes on contributor

Dr Jenny McDonald, MB BS (Hons), FRACP, is a specialist in community child health, is a senior lecturer in medical education at Western Sydney University. Previously, she worked as a Community Paediatrician in Campbelltown, NSW, Australia.