Screening for Neurodevelopmental Disorders in Japanese 18‐ and 36‐Month Health Check‐Ups: Utility and Reproducibility of the ESSENCE ‐Q

Aim The ESSENCE Questionnaire (ESSENCE‐Q) helps detect early neurodevelopmental disorder signs across multiple developmental domains for timely intervention. We evaluated the feasibility, reliability, accuracy and reproducibility of ESSENCE‐Q in 18‐ and 36‐month Japanese infants and toddlers. Methods Longitudinal data from 1373 children who participated in 18‐ and/or 36‐month health check‐up were analysed. ESSENCE‐Q was completed independently by mothers (ESSENCE‐Q‐M), public health nurses (ESSENCE‐Q‐N) and psychologists (ESSENCE‐Q‐P). Its effectiveness was evaluated using receiver operating characteristic curves, and optimal cut‐off values were established. Results The overall neurodevelopmental disorder prevalence was 11.2%. The internal consistency of ESSENCE‐Q was good. ESSENCE‐Q‐P demonstrated the highest performance at 18 months. Both ESSENCE‐Q‐N and ESSENCE‐Q‐P demonstrated excellent performance at 36 months. ESSENCE‐Q‐M is not sufficient for standalone use. Conclusion ESSENCE‐Q is a highly useful and reproducible screening tool for professionals for 18‐ and 36‐month check‐ups. ESSENCE‐Q completed by mothers should be supplemented with professional assessments.