How effectively do parents discern their children's cognitive deficits at a preschool age?

This hospital-based study explored how effectively parents discern their children's cognitive deficits at a preschool age since few studies have addressed preschool children's cognitive problems.

One hundred and forty-six preschool children suspected of possessing a cognitive deficit were recruited and subjected to further cognitive assessments. All parental concerns for their children were elicited and categorized into various child developmental domains. The cognitive performances amongst children whose parents expressed specific concerns were compared.

With regard to the children whose parents expressed multiple concerns about their child's developmental problems, the Performance Intelligence Quotient (PIQ), Verbal Intelligence Quotient (VIQ) and Full Scale Intelligence Quotient (FSIQ) scores were significantly lower than they were for the children whose parents had behavior concerns (p < 0.01). For children whose parents had raised concerns about their child's speech developmental problems, the VIQ and FSIQ scores were found to be significantly lower than they were for the children whose parents had raised behavior concerns (p < 0.01). In addition, it was found that parental concerns about multiple domains of developmental problems could produce relatively higher sensitivity and positive predictive value in the deficits of both verbal and non-verbal cognitive abilities. Parental concerns about only speech developmental problems were noted to yield high positive predictive value regarding verbal-cognitive deficits.

The results indicate that parents' initial concerns about their children's multiple or speech developmental problems were relatively highly correlated with cognitive deficits. It is recommended that clinicians should guide parents to voice and organize their concerns regarding the perception of their children's developmental progress, and further precisely analyze and utilize significant information.