They soon found this was a shared concern among early intervention professionals. As a result, a multi-disciplinary group volunteered to meet on a regular basis to address this concern. Their goal was to develop an efficient checklist for professionals to use to identify children experiencing developmental delays. The committee consisted of speech language pathologists, occupational therapists, physiotherapists, nurses, teachers, social workers and parent-infant therapists. Since its inception in 1993, the Nipissing Developmental Screen Committee (NDDS) have continued to update and incorporate changes to the instrument.

The NDDS was designed to elicit a "YES" or "NO" response, with "NO" indicating a possible developmental delay.

The following outlines the history and development of the NDDS:

1993 - 1995
-The Committee was formed and a first draft of the screen was created, based on norm-referenced material.
-The Screen was reviewed, revised and updated for style and content.

1996
-Health Canada (Community Action Program for Children) assisted in promoting the use of the Screen across Canada.
-A reference to the Screen by Dr. Paul Steinhauer appeared in an article titled "Improving Developmental Outcomes for Youth," and ran in the August issue of Ontario Medical Review. This drew large response from physicians throughout Ontario.

1997
-An article was published in IMPrint (Newsletter for the Infant Mental Health Promotion Project, Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, Canada, Volume 20, Winter 97/98) titled "The Nipissing Developmental Screen: An Innovative Screening Tool".
-The NDDS started being used across Canada.

1998
-NDDS was reviewed and updated with the addition of a 30-month Screen.
-The text was translated to French.

1999
-Healthy Babies/Healthy Children (HB/HC) was established in Ontario and the NDDS was identified as the most comprehensive Canadian screening tool available. It was adopted as the screening tool of choice by HB/HC.
- A 15-month screen was developed.

2000
-The Screen was updated to include autism indicators and additional language and social/emotional items as recommended by the Office of Integrated Services for Children.
-Ryerson Polytechnical Institute in Toronto, Ontario, analyzed the NDDS for cultural sensitivity. The recommendations were implemented and a new comprehensive Screen was printed reflecting these revisions.
-Play activities were included to complement each Screen.
- Literacy specialists reviewed the Screen to ensure a maintained Grade 5 literacy level.

2001
-NDDS Committee was incorporated as Nipissing District Developmental Screen Inc.
- http://www.ndds.ca was launched.
-Spanish translation was printed and introduced in San Diego, California.
-North West Territories adopted the NDDS as their screening tool of choice.

2002
-Healthy Babies/Healthy Children’s initial Validity Testing was completed by the Applied Research Consultants from the University of Guelph, Ontario, Canada (Click here to view the Evaluation Page.).
-The fourth version of the NDDS was produced to reflect recommendations of the Validity Testing.
- Chinese translation was produced.

2004
- The NDDS was endorsed by New Brunswick as their official early childhood developmental screen.
- NDDS USA was incorporated to serve our American customers.
- Development of the electronic version of the NDDS begins.

2005
- Vietnamese translation was completed.
- The Interactive Screen pilot project was launched.

2006
- Web ordering became available online at www.ndds.ca
- Interactive Screen was finalized and launched.
- Licensing agreement with the Province of Ontario, Ministry of Children and Youth Services was signed.
*Sponsored by the Children's Aid Society for the Districts of Nipissing and Parry Sound, in North Bay, Ontario, Canada.

2007
- Media Launch of the agreement with the Ministry of Children and Youth Services.

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* The Nipissing, Nipissing District Developmental Screen, NDDS and NDDS.ca are trademarks of Nipissing District Developmental Screen Intellectual Property Association, used under license.
All rights reserved.