Caregiver-identified strengths in children attending their first neurodevelopmental assessment

Caregiver-identified strengths in children attending their first neurodevelopmental assessment: Findings from the Sydney child development research registry and development of a child strengths checklist

There has been a growing focus on the importance of understanding strengths in children with neurodevelopmental conditions, but there is little research exploring caregiver-reported strengths at the time of diagnostic assessment.

In this study, we explored caregiver-identified strengths in 686 children who were attending a neurodevelopmental assessment. Content analysis identified 61 unique categories of strengths, which we grouped into six main themes. These six themes were cognitive and intellectual, social and interpersonal, hobbies and passions, character and personality, physical, and behavioural.

The most common strengths identified by caregivers were 'kind, caring, and compassionate', 'social and friendly', 'loving and affectionate', 'music, singing, and dancing', and 'good memory recall'.

Based on these strengths, we present a checklist that was developed with community representatives, to make sure a strengths-based framework can be used during the diagnostic process. We discuss how we can use this knowledge to develop strengths-based practices that can support clinical practice and inform on child development and family well-being.

This article is published in The National Autistic Society.

Read the full research paper here