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Busan Metropolitan City Child Protection Comprehensive Center Significantly Expands “Child Development Assessment” Eligibility to Children Aged 6 and Under

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Busan Metropolitan City’s Child Protection Comprehensive Center announced that it is expanding eligibility for the “Child Development Assessment” in response to the recent increase in children with borderline intellectual functioning and developmental delays.

The assessment will be provided to a total of 40 children. Eligibility has been expanded from children aged 4 and under, or 24 to 48 months, to children aged 6 and under, or 24 to 72 months.

The “Child Development Assessment” is a program designed to comprehensively assess a child’s developmental status, identify potential developmental delays at an early stage, and connect children with in-depth assessments and necessary psychological services based on the results.

The assessments are conducted by professional psychological therapists in the Center’s psychological therapy rooms. Three assessment tools* are used to comprehensively evaluate areas including language, social skills, gross and fine motor skills, and behavioral temperament.

• ●The three assessment tools are the Denver Developmental Screening Test II (Denver II), the Korean Child Development Inventory (K-CDI), and the Korean Temperament and Atypical Behavior Scale (K-TABS).

Based on the assessment results, children will be classified as normal, requiring caution, at risk, or at high risk, and will be connected with tailored psychological services according to their level of risk.

Children assessed as normal or requiring caution will be observed through regular monitoring. Children in the risk group will receive psychological therapy, including language and play therapy, as well as parenting coaching and counseling for their parents.

Children classified as high risk will receive in-depth assessments* and results interpretation counseling through specialized institutions, followed by tailored psychological therapy according to the assessment results.

• ●In-depth assessments include the Wechsler Preschool and Primary Scale of Intelligence, Fourth Edition (K-WPPSI-IV), House-Tree-Person Test (HTP), Visual-Motor Integration Test (VMI), Parental Attitude Test (PAT-2), and Kinetic Family Drawing (KFD), among others.

Applications will be accepted on a first-come, first-served basis, with a total of 40 places available. Parents or guardians wishing to apply should complete the application form posted in the Notices section of the Center’s website at busan.go.kr/adong/cccaler01 and submit it by email to adong1391@korea.kr. Children who have already received support for a Child Development Assessment this year will not be eligible for selection.

By expanding the eligible age range for the Child Development Assessment, the Center expects to identify children with borderline intellectual functioning and developmental delays at an early stage and provide them with tailored psychological support.

If issues such as cognitive difficulties or emotional anxiety are not identified and addressed early in childhood, children may face greater difficulty after reaching school age not only with cognitive and academic learning support but also with complex emotional and behavioral issues such as depression, anxiety, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), and other challenges.

Accordingly, the Center plans to further strengthen its one-stop support system, providing services ranging from in-depth assessments and treatment to parent coaching based on each child’s developmental status and level of risk.

Jeon Jin-uk, Director of Busan Metropolitan City’s Child Protection Comprehensive Center, said, “As the Child Development Assessment is an important tool for identifying a child’s developmental status and the possibility of developmental delay at an early stage, this expansion will extend developmental assessment support to children aged 6 and under. By connecting them with tailored psychological services, we will actively support children’s healthy growth.”