Chapter 10 Next steps

This section provides a quick overview of the relevance, concepts and techniques of the D-score. While the results obtained thus far are encouraging, some questions will certainly remain when we put the method to practice.

A rough selection of such questions includes:

• What is the added value of the D-score in practice?
• Does the D-score extend to higher ages?
• Is the assumption of uni-dimensionality reasonable for other ages and populations?
• Can we calculate the D-score from instruments other than the DDI?
• Is it reasonable to assume that milestone difficulty is identical in other populations?
• Does the method apply to caregiver-reported milestones?
• Would a dedicated D-score instrument be more efficient?
• How many milestones are “enough?”
• Can the same scale be used for measurement at individual, group and population levels?
• Can the D-score detect delayed development?
• Would the D-score help to target early interventions?

This section briefly reviews some of these issues.