No Comparisons
How do you know whether
Measuring children’s development
during the pandemic
your child is developing
as he or she should? Visit
washingtonfamily.com for
a guide to developmental
behavior, language, motor
and social skills.

28 WashingtonFAMILY FEBRUARY 2021
BY ERICA RIMLINGER
S ince the COVID-19 pandemic
began in March, child development
specialist Dr. Mary L. O’Connor
Leppert has noticed a significant drop
in referrals to the Maryland Infants
and Toddlers Program, the state’s early
intervention program. Referrals have also
declined at Kennedy Krieger Institute,
where clinicians diagnose and treat pediatric
developmental, behavioral and mental
health disorders.

The drop appeared so steep that Leppert
checked the numbers. When comparing
referrals from March through August 2019
to the same months in 2020, she found
Kennedy Krieger Institute’s referrals for
children younger than age 4 had declined
41% overall, with variations based on
programs. The drops in program enrollment
included a 35% reduction in medical
referrals, a 47% reduction in behavior
referrals and a 69% reduction in mental
health referrals.

Leppert, a member of the medical staff
at Kennedy Krieger Institute’s department
of neurodevelopmental medicine, is the
director of its Center for Development
and Learning and co-director of its Infant
WARRENGOLDSWAIN/ISTOCK/GETTY IMAGES PLUS/GETTY IMAGES
INCLUSIVE FAMILY