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Introduction Placental insufficiency is one of the reasons for the reduction of hormone production. Thus, if one of the suspected causes of hypospadias is placental insufficiency, then the neurodevelopmental status of boys with hypospadias may be impaired. The aim of this study was to evaluate the neurodevelopmental status of boys with hypospadias and guide the parents of those who need support to related departments for early intervention. Materials and Methods Boys were divided into two groups, those with hypospadias (group H) and healthy children undergoing traditional circumcision (group C). The parents of the boys completed the Ages and Stages Questionnaire (ASQ) and ASQ–Social Emotional (SE), both of which are screening instruments for the early identification of developmental and social–emotional problems, respectively. Results Seventy-eight boys had hypospadias and 59 were admitted for traditional circumcision. The group H had statistically significant more impaired scores than group C in communication, gross motor, and personal–social skill sections. The multivariate logistic regression analysis revealed that hypospadias was the independent predictive factor for communication and personal–social skills. Conclusion Hypospadias and neurologic impairment may share common etiologic factors. Accordingly, physicians should keep in mind that if a boy presents with hypospadias, the possibility of having neurologic impairment is higher than normal population and early intervention has crucial importance. Every boy with hypospadias should be evaluated for neurodevelopmental status.

The applicability of the Age and Stages Questionnaires: Social Emotional (ASQ-SE; ) for Turkish children was examined. A total of 608 mothers completed the ASQ-SE's. Overall sensitivity and overall specificity were 83.7% and 89.9%, respectively. Test-retest reliability, assessed by classifying children as "at risk" or "not at risk" for social-emotional development, was 87%. The interrater reliability between mothers' and teachers' classifications was 83.6%. The results revealed that the psychometric properties of the ASQ-SE in Turkish children are comparable to those reported in Squires et al. Low levels of mothers' education, but not of the family income, were found to be linked to social-emotional problems. In the light of the findings it is concluded that the ASQ-SE can be utilized to screen the social emotional competencies and problems of Turkish children and to identify various risk and protective factors that affect social emotional development. Copyright © 2011 Lippincott Williams & Wilkins. Unauthorized reproduction of this article is prohibited.

The majority of eligible children cannot access early intervention services in Turkey, often because they are not assessed. The authors adapted the Ages and Stages Questionnaires (ASQ) for Turkish children ages 3 to 72 months. Study participants consisted of 375 children who were classified as at risk for developmental delays, 564 children considered not at risk for developmental delays (both groups according to standardized assessments), and 39 children with known disabilities. The ROC analyses indicated that a two-domain criterion for classification would be used to classify children as at risk, unlike the original ASQ, which had a one-domain classification. The sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, and negative predictive value of ASQ were.94,.85,.97, and.75, respectively. Test—retest and interrater reliabilities calculated as overall percentage agreements were found to be 82% and 87%, respectively. The results demonstrated that the ASQ could be used to screen Turkish children who are at risk for developmental delays. © 2010, Hammill Institute on Disabilities. All rights reserved.

The present study aims to assess the parental outcomes of an early intervention programme, designed to enhance the development of children zero to four years old with developmental disabilities through parental training. The parents of children with developmental disabilities who participated in the study (mothers, n = 29; fathers, n = 28) attended an early intervention programme lasting eight months in the Turkish city of Ankara. Two dimensions of parental outcomes were stress and depression levels, which were assessed on a pre-test and post-test basis using the Questionnaire on Resources and Stress-F (QRS-F) and the Beck Depression Inventory). The findings demonstrated no significant change in mothers' stress scores while fathers' stress scores decreased on a subdimension of the QRS-F named 'child's characteristics'. Additionally, it is found that the depression levels of both parents decreased after the implementation of the programme. Implications are drawn from the findings for future research on parental stress, depression and for the development of the family-focused early intervention practices. © 2006 Taylor & Francis.

This study aimed to develop a new scale, the 'Supports Scale For Preschool Inclusion' (SSPI), to assess pre-school teachers' perceptions of necessary factors and availability of supports for a successful inclusion in pre-school educational settings. Pre-school teachers (n = 183, mean age = 32.81, standard deviation = 8.29) from all regions of Turkey participated in the study. They were asked to fill in each item of the SSPI for two dimensions, namely necessity and support dimensions, by rating on a four-point Likert-type scale from 1 (none) to 4 (completely). A number of reliability and validity analyses-such as internal consistency, test-retest reliabilities and factor and criterion validities-were conducted to examine the psychometric properties of the SSPI. The results showed that the 34-item respondent-based scale is a reliable and valid instrument to assess pre-school teachers' perception of necessities and availabilities of supports for successful inclusion. Findings were discussed in relation to the usage of the scale in inclusive settings. © 2006 Taylor & Francis.