FUNDED PROJECTS

• Coordinator: Lynn Bar-On, UGent
• Other Partner Institutions: University of Groningen (RuG), Uppsala University (UU)
• Team Composition:

The CoMove core team:

1. Lynn Bar-On (Department of Rehabilitation Sciences, UGent), focuses her research on the early detection of neurodevelopmental disabilities using quantitative and qualitative methods as well as projects involving interprofessional collaboration and the profiling of young children to positively influence their developmental trajectories. She is coordinator of the ERASMUS+ BIP Paediatric Rehabilitation course at UGent.
   Lynn is the main coordinator of CoMove and responsible for WP1 (WP1: Establishment and coordination of an interdisciplinary expert network.)

2. Mathilde Joos (Department of Rehabilitation Sciences, UGent; Experimental-Clinical and Health Psychology, UGent), is carrying out a joint-PhD under the supervision of Prof. Lynn Bar-On and Prof. Petra Warreyn on early transdiagnostic markers of neurodevelopmental disabilities, with focus on motor development and emotional regulation. Given the alignment with CoMOVE, Mathilde will join the CoMOVE project as an R1 researcher to co-author the mapping review.
3. Kine Johansen (CIRCLE/Department of Women’s and Children’s Health, UU) is a physiotherapist specialized in paediatrics and a senior researcher focused on early identification and intervention for children with motor difficulties. Her doctoral research evaluated the use of a standardized motor assessment (SOMP-I) in child health services. She has co-developed and evaluated an integrated care model for preschoolers with suspected developmental disorders and is currently PI for two studies on Developmental Coordination Disorder (DCD) and chairs both the Swedish national network for physiotherapists and occupational therapists working with DCD and the Research Committee of IOPTP.
   Within CoMove, Kine is responsible for WP3 (Multicountry mapping review of developmental surveillance and follow-up programs).

4. Kirsten Heineman (Developmental Neurology UMCG/Child neurology, RuG), is child neurologist and head of the research department Developmental Neurology in the UMCG. She is PI on the BIRD project - ‘Biomarkers in Infants at Risk of Developmental disorders’- a large population-based cohort study on early predictors of NDD’s conducted by the department of Developmental Neurology and Child Study Centre Accare in Groningen. She is member of the Dutch DCD Steering Committee, the national DCD guidelines working group and the Dutch neonatal neurology work group.
   Within CoMove, Kirsten is responsible for WP2 (Establishment of the early motor development webinar series).

5. Suzanne Houwen (Faculty of Behavioural and Social Sciences, Rug) researches the relationship between developmental domains (motor, language, social-emotional, cognition) in typically and atypically developing children. She led the longitudinal research project "MELLE" (Motor skills, Executive functions, Language, and LEarning outcomes in preschool children), in which 3-to-5-year-olds were followed regarding their motor skills, executive functions, language/emergent literacy skills, socio-emotional behaviour, and first grade school outcomes. She is member of DCD Steering Committee and the national DCD research network. She is also on the steering committee of ‘In Kaart', a longitudinal registry (https://www.inkaart.org) that collects comprehensive information on individuals with developmental disabilities and their relatives.
   Within CoMove, Suzanne is responsible for WP4 (CoMOVE conference).

• Stakeholders/External Partners:

The CoMove core team will work closely with an advisory board. Advisory board members will include representatives from the following sectors, with at least one representative from each participating country invited to serve on the board:

• Primary care developmental surveillance providers and national public health institutes.
• Secondary and tertiary follow-up clinic leads.
• Parental-advocacy and NDD support networks.
• Researchers and healthcare professionals in early childhood development, disability and public health.

Advisory board members will participate in project result dissemination by taking active roles on generated scientific output, participating in future grant applications and by co-creating informative materials such as brochures, infographics, and videos to communicate the impact to a broader audience.

External partners already included in the advisory board:

• Frederik Deconinck, Department of Sport and Human Movement Sciences, UGent
• Managers of the Four Centers for Developmental Disabilities Flanders:
  • Evelyn Rondelez, COS Gent, University Hospital Gent, Belgium
  • Els Ortibus, COS Leuven, University Hospital Leuven, Belgium
  • Meneia Steel Lebre, COS Antwerpen, University Hospital Antwerpen, Belgium
  • Eva Cloet, COS Brussels, University Hospital Brussels, Belgium
• Anna Sarkadi (Uppsala University & Uppsala University Children's Hospital - Neonatology)
• Fredrik Ahlsson (Uppsala University & Uppsala University Children's Hospital - Child health services)
• Department of Neonatology, Beatrix Children's Hospital, University medical Center Groningen.

The overarching ambition of the ETN is to establish a collaborative, interdisciplinary and transnational expert network focusing on early motor development in children aged 0–4 years, and its critical role in the early identification of NDDs. Our long-term vision is to catalyse a paradigm shift in how NDDs are identified and addressed across Europe: moving from fragmented, diagnosis-specific approaches toward integrated, early and interdisciplinary surveillance based on shared developmental markers, particularly motor development. This shift is essential given the current mismatch between when symptoms commonly appear (<2 years of age) and when children typically receive a diagnosis and access support (>5 years). Through this ETN, we will lay the foundation for joint educational offerings, translational research, policy advocacy, and service innovations.

Short-term objectives:

1. Establish a sustainable, interdisciplinary expert network focused on early motor development and its role in the early identification of NDDs. The network is composed of a core team, a stakeholder collaborative group and an advisory board.
2. Launch the CoMOVE webinar series, open to staff, students, clinicians and researchers across the ENLIGHT alliance, to promote interdisciplinary knowledge exchange. Two webinars will be integrated into the online modules of an existing Erasmus+ Blended Intensive Program (BIP).
3. Conduct a multi-country mapping review of developmental surveillance policies and follow-up practices for infants with a high likelihood of NDDs across Europe, identifying convergence, divergence, and opportunities for innovation and harmonisation. The review will be published open-access and translated to multiple formats for wide dissemination.
4. Organize an international hybrid European conference and the launch of a joint roadmap for future education, research and policy targeting multidisciplinary professionals working in developmental surveillance and follow-up of infants with a high likelihood of NDDs. The conference will present the findings of the mapping review, while the training roadmap will outline strategies for strengthening skills and knowledge in early childhood development and assessment, aiming to support professional development and enhance practice across sectors.

Contact Person: Lynn Bar-On