The Impact of the COVİD-19 Pandemic on Children's Development in the Scope of Early Intervention

The aim of this study is to examine the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on child development within the framework of early intervention and developmental monitoring. To achieve this aim, a retrospective cohort design was used. The study group consists of 1,019 children (672 boys and 347 girls) who presented to the Child Development Unit of Kırıkkale High Specialization Hospital between March 2018 and March 2022 (2 years before the COVID-19 pandemic and 2 years after the onset of the pandemic). The data for the study were obtained from each child's developmental follow-up file. The developmental follow-up file includes the "Developmental Follow-up Form" and the "Denver II Developmental Screening Test". The data were analyzed using descriptive statistics. As a result of the data analysis, a comparison was made between the development of children before and after the COVID-19 pandemic, and it was found that the pandemic had a negative impact on children's overall development, personal-social development, language development, and both fine and gross motor skills. When examining the guidance and recommendations made by the Child Development Unit within the scope of early intervention, it was found that general developmental recommendations and language development support suggestions were provided; referrals were made to child psychiatry, pediatric neurology, speech and language therapy, cognitive assessment, auditory assessment, and preschool education areas; and children with risky follow-ups were called for follow-up consultations. Among the counseling topics provided for developmental intervention were stuttering-fluency disorders, nutrition recommendations (food refusal, transitioning to solid foods, selectivity, etc.), toilet training, enuresis and encopresis, articulation disorders, sleep routine, behavioral problems, tic disorders (thumb-sucking, nail-biting, etc.), school readiness, sibling rivalry, screen addiction, emotional regulation, coping with stress, separation anxiety, constipation, divorce, obsession, introversion, and concerns about sexual identity development. It was determined that the variety and number of counseling topics increased in the period after the pandemic. Keywords: COVID-19 pandemic, child development, early intervention.