The first path is to start with a screening tool. If your child’s screening results are positive, it means your child is more likely or may have the condition being tested. If so, the next step would be to have a diagnostic evaluation to confirm or rule out the condition. If your child is young, it is important to screen again in 3-6 months as some developmental delays unfold as your child grows. It is also important to monitor developmental milestones that your child is learning—this is called developmental surveillance, which means to monitor your child’s milestones, along with screening. Baby Navigator offers surveillance with our SoCo Growth Charts for children from birth to 24 months, and parents can continue tracking milestones if your child is behind until 36 months. Baby Navigator offers screening with the SoCo CheckUp every 3 months from 9 to 24 months and then every 6 months from 24 to 36 months.

The second path is for families who already have concerns about their child. If you suspect your child has a communication delay and/or may have signs of autism, you can skip screening your child and go directly to getting a diagnostic evaluation. Your concerns are like a positive screen. While some delays in talking may clear up, autism is unlikely to clear up without effective intervention of sufficient intensity. If you have concerns, don’t wait and see. It is important to find out what developmental delays or disorders your child has, so that you can access effective early intervention.

Screening and diagnosis are generally part of your child’s health or educational records. Therefore, a child’s parent or legal guardian would need to give permission and be involved in testing. Doctors and other healthcare providers play a critical role— they usually offer developmental screening and surveillance and then refer you for a diagnostic evaluation. As a child approaches 3 to 5 years of age for the transition to preschool and Kindergarten, the education team offers screening and evaluation to determine if your child is eligible for special services.

What if I don’t want a label? There are differing opinions on getting a diagnosis or a label for children. Some families worry that having a label will lead to their child being looked at differently by their teachers or peers or even picked on or bullied. While this can happen, children who do not have a formal diagnosis or label can also be picked on or bullied. A label or diagnosis can help your child’s care team understand your child’s strengths and needs and connect your child with services and supports. A diagnostic evaluation offers not only a label like language disorder, learning disability or autism spectrum disorder, but the testing should provide detailed information about your child’s strengths and weaknesses that are the basis to develop an educational or intervention plan tailored to your child. You can decide who you share your child’s diagnosis or label with, and whether it is included in your child’s records. We encourage you to inform your child’s care team of your child’s diagnosis because it can help them understand the learning strengths and challenges that your child has, and more importantly, it can help them design and tailor your child’s learning program and environment.