A review maps early developmental warning signs across childhood skills
Motor, language, social and behavioral differences appeared across the literature, but the abstract does not quantify how accurately individual signs identify a developmental disorder.
Based on the published abstract. The full paper may contain additional methods, results and limitations.
The 30-second takeaway
The review brought together early signs that may warrant developmental assessment, including delayed movement or language, differences in social interaction and loss of previously acquired skills. These are warning signs, not diagnoses. The abstract supports considering several developmental domains together with formal assessment, but does not show how reliably any single sign predicts a disorder.
The abstract lists signs and screening tools without numerical accuracy estimates or a detailed breakdown by disorder. It cannot establish the predictive value of a particular sign in an individual child.
Several developmental domains
The synthesis covered movement, communication, social connection, thinking and behavior. Reported concerns included loss of skills, limited shared attention, repetitive behavior and unusual sensory responses, alongside sleep or feeding difficulties.
Screening and assessment
Screening instruments were reported to improve detection and shorten referral delays. The abstract does not provide comparison details or effect sizes, so it cannot show which tool performs best or how much time is saved.
The original publication
Warning signs for identifying neurodevelopmental disorders: a systematic literature review.
Araújo LA
J Pediatr (Rio J) · 2026
- PubMed ID
- 41248901
- Record checked
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