November 8, 2006 -- Campaign Aims to Increase Awareness of Early Childhood Development

In cooperation with a coalition of national partners, the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is launching a campaign to alert child care providers to the importance of tracking a child’s social and emotional development, including the potential early warning signs of autism and other developmental disabilities. “More than 8.7 million children younger than five years of age in the United States are in some type of child care arrangement,” said Alison Johnson, acting director of the CDC’s National Center on Birth Defects and Developmental Disabilities. “Child care providers and preschool teachers are in a special position to watch for delays and to promote early identification and action when a delay is suspected.” A resource kit of materials on child development will be available free to day care providers and teachers to use with parents of children in their care. Information about the campaign “Learn the Signs: Act Early” and how to order the resource kit is available online at http://www.cdc.gov/actearly.