Do you have a child who is between the ages of 14 months and 7 years? If so, Harvard Medical School is seeking your support! They hope that you will help them finish their work on methods that simplify the process of detecting developmental delays by bringing it closer to homes through natural home videos of your child in a social situation and straightforward parent questionnaires.
The PuzzleMouse Project (https://puzzlemouse.hms.harvard.edu)
Detect early. Intervene early.
The Wall Lab at Harvard Medical School is just months away from completing a mobile system for rapid detection of developmental delays and needs your help! Participate in this study to make a difference for children and families with developmental delays.
Why we are conducting this study:
We want to bridge the time gap between suspicion, diagnosis, and early intervention for children with developmental delays, as well as increase access to resources. With community involvement, we will be able to validate a mobile and accessible tool that simplifies the process of detecting developmental delays by bringing it closer to homes through natural home videos of the child in a social situation and straightforward parent questionnaires.
Who are we seeking:
We are seeking caregivers of children, ages 14 months to 7 years old, with OR without a diagnosis of a developmental delay.
How to participate:
Participation is done from the privacy and comfort of your own home from any device that has access to the Internet. You visit the website at: https://puzzlemouse.hms.harvard.edu.
You participates by:
1) Submitting a short survey
You will be asked to complete ten questions about your child’s day-to-day behavior.
2) Uploading a 2-5 minute home video of the caregiver’s child in a social situation
A birthday party, playing with friends, or a day at the park, should work wonderfully.
What we hope to do with the results of the study:
Through this beta phase of our research we hope to create a system that will reach families across the country and around the world, including families who do not have access to the medical infrastructure needed to diagnose developmental delays. The end goal is to help families get the attention their child needs in a matter of days.
Conclusion:
Your help will allow us to refine their tool to provide optimal information and value to families, and key data for doctors to make the right decision about diagnosis and therapy. Understanding and acknowledging the difference of a child’s behavior at home versus in a clinic is what drives our research to seek your participation to validate a faster screening approach for developmental delays.
Visit https://puzzlemouse.hms.harvard.edu to see how you can support this cause and facilitate access to a novel screening approach to the community.