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Our understanding of infant and child development has developed and even greatly changed in certain aspects. This is due to the methods used in fundamental or applied research giving us access to new data, as well as to data analysis approaches focusing on individuals and their developmental trajectory. It is also linked to psychologists’ interest in extremely premature infants and early diagnosed neurodevelopmental disorders. This paper will illustrate the developments that have resulted from studies on early neurodevelopment and to research on intellectual disorders. This will in turn shed valuable light on normal development.