Understanding the process of early childhood developmental evaluations: Part 6
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EmailBecome familiar with early childhood developmental evaluation, ways to request an evaluation for your child, how the process works and following up after the evaluation.
Have you ever wondered about your child’s overall development? Many parents and caregivers do a great job following along with, and even tracking, how their children are doing with their speech and language, motor skills and social skills. However, there are early childhood professionals who can track your child’s developmental milestones while looking for any delays that may be happening. This article series will focus on developmental evaluations and how you can request, prepare for, and ultimately participate in an online or in-person early childhood developmental evaluation.
In the previous article in this Michigan State University Extension series, we discussed what takes place during the actual evaluation. In this sixth article, we will focus on what follow-up looks like after the evaluation has been completed and the professional says goodbye to the family. We will discuss the follow-up process, expectation of the timeframe to receive information, and what the results and information shared may look like.
At the end of the evaluation, the early childhood professional should share preliminary results such as scores in developmental domains, ideas and activities to begin practicing the skills discussed or addressing areas of concern, and of course, when to expect the follow-up letter or documentation. Based on the majority of early childhood services such as Early On and Head Start, you can typically expect a write-up within two weeks (actual calendar days) of completion of the evaluation. Remember, evaluators may have a full calendar of evaluations, so one must give them a fair amount of time to complete follow-up based on their agency’s procedures and expectations. If the professional forgets to give you the expectation of timeframes, please don’t hesitate to ask as it’s important to remember that you are your child’s best advocate. Nationwide, early intervention services are held to a very specific 45 day timeline set by the federal Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP).
Once you know the timeframe, you can expect to receive a packet in the mail with an introduction, copy of the results and explanation of next steps. If you are unfamiliar with some of the language used by early childhood providers, Early On Michigan has a great glossary on their website to help build your understanding. Your follow up information will typically contain the write-up on how your child did in each developmental category including: motor, language, social, emotional and cognitive skills. All categories are broken down into age ranges, typically in three month increments such as 18-21 months, 21-24 months, 24-27 months, etc. (these are only examples). Your child will be scored based on where their skills fall in each developmental domain.
Qualifying for early childhood services may depend on the level of delay. This will be determined by the evaluator and usually shared at the visit. However, sometimes follow-up will change and you will receive updated information when the follow-up explanation of results is mailed. Remember, you can always ask for an explanation of the results and even a new evaluation if you do not feel the results reflect your child’s abilities.
You can learn more about child development, parent and caregiver webinars and family activities by visiting the MSU Extension Child and Family Development webpage and the MI Stronger Family Facebook page.
