Evaluation

Evaluation and management of your child's speech and language delay will depend on their age. However, no matter their age, the first person you should be communicating your concerns with, is the Pediatrician. At every well visit, the Pediatrician should be asking you questions, and may even have you fill out a questionnaire to review your child's development. Some of those developmental questions may include but not are not limited to, if your child can use a zipper, button a button, hop on one foot, look at strangers when they talk to them, wave bye, and so on and so forth. These developmental milestones should incorporate gross motor, fine motor, and speech and language. If you are waiting on a well visit and something is concerning before that visit, please call your Pediatrician and request a visit before your next appointment. It is so very important that we as parents and caregivers stay on top of our child's development.

If your child is age three and under, your Pediatrician may refer you to Early Intervention in your area. Early Intervention is the term used to describe services and supports that are available for infants and toddlers with developmental disabilities. Early Intervention can include Speech and Language Pathologists (SLP), Occupational Therapists (OT), Physical Therapy (PT), and other services based on the need of the family. Once you contact an Early Intervention office near you, in most cases you will complete a phone screen to describe the nature of the problem, an intake visit, and then have your child evaluated. The Early Intervention team that will evaluate your child will include an SLP, OT, PT and a Case Manager. They will review the developmental milestones for your child's age, collect history and data, and see if your child qualifies for services. Depending on your child's evaluation will depend on how many services your child will get, frequency and whom will be giving the services (whether it be SLP, OT or other therapist).

If your child is over the age of 3, services that may be needed for your child's development will be referred to the public school in your area. If your child attends preschool at age 3 within public school then you can go right to the Special Education department and request a meeting and put in a referral for your child to be screened for services. If your child is currently in Early Intervention (EI) and they are about to age out, the EI team you are working with will help you make the transition to the public school system and go over all of the processes with you. If the public school system deems that your child needs services then an Individualized Educational Plan or IEP may be recommended.

Early Intervention and school evaluations will differ. The main difference is the age groups and development expectations of the age the child that the team(s) are evaluating.

Other evaluations if needed:

In some cases, developmental delays can be a sign of autism, apraxia, mutism and other diagnoses. Therefore, it is highly recommended to talk to the Pediatrician and make sure you do not also need a referral to a Special Needs clinic in your area.

For more information about Early Intervention in the Massachusetts and New Hampshire area, please refer to Family & Educator resources on this site.

References:

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2019, December 9). What is "Early Intervention"? Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. https://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/actearly/parents/states.html.

University of Oregon Center on Teaching and Learning. (n.d.). UO DIBELS® Data System. Dynamic Indicators of Basic Early Literacy Skills : UO DIBELS Data System. https://dibels.uoregon.edu/assessment/dibels.