Childhood development and screening
Childhood development and screening
It is important to have your toddler screened to detect any developmental delays early
By Kelly Kaiser Borning, MS, OTR/L
When a child is born, and as he transitions from babyhood to the toddler years, most parents are so thrilled about their new family addition that they may not be aware of problems with their child's development. Most children, when given proper nutrition and a safe, stimulating environment to grow up in will develop fine on their own. However, some children may have delays in one or more areas even when the parents do everything "right." Regardless of if you believe your child has delays or not, it is important to have him screened at least twice before going to kindergarten; once before the age of 2, and then again before kindergarten.
In 1986, US Congress passed a law called the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (Public Law 102-119), otherwise known as IDEA. This law mandates each state in the United States to provide free developmental screenings for all children 3 and under. If a problem is detected in an area of development, which may include speech, fine motor skills, gross motor skills, vision, or hearing, often a more extensive evaluation will take place. Services are provided free of charge to these children (and their families through support and information on how to help their child).
When a child qualifies for services, an individualized family service plan (IFSP) is developed with a team of professionals. The professionals may include a social worker or other case manager, occupational therapist, speech and language pathologist, physical therapist, vision or hearing specialists, psychologist, medical professionals, and several others. These professionals work together with the child's family to develop goals which will best help the child. The team typically meets once a year to review and rewrite the entire document, but will hold progress meetings at least once every six months to make any necessary changes with respect to the rate of progress.
One of the most common concerns among parents of young children is the development of speech. Delays become more evident as the child ages. Other concerns may revolve around the development of crawling or walking, feeding issues, behavior concerns, or sensory issues (child does not liked to be touched or is always running into things, will only eat certain foods, will not explore new textures in the environment, seems to overreact to sounds, etc.). Keep in mind that skills for typical childhood development fall within a range (for instance, a child may walk anywhere from 9 months to 15 months), but if your child is falling out of that range (not walking by 18 months), delays may be present.
What it boils down to is have your child screened whether you feel he has delays or not. The screenings, evaluations, and services are free, and the benefits are infinite. Many developmental delays, if caught early enough, can be corrected and will not be a problem later in your child's life. However, when left untreated, these delays may affect your child's education, social life, and general health and happiness, and also make your life more difficult than necessary. To find out more information about where to get your child screened, contact the National Early Childhood Technical Assistance Center at this website http://www.nectac.org/default.asp.
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