What To Expect During a Developmental Assessment for Kids

What You Need to Know About Your Child's Developmental Assessment Appointment

You may have questions about the development milestones of your growing child. Our providers at TLC Pediatrics can answer any questions regarding your child's developmental milestones and the process involved with developmental assessments and screenings. Please schedule your appointment at our Norwalk, CT, office today.

What Are Developmental Screenings?

As your child is growing up and you schedule regular well-child visits, our doctor will perform mini assessments at these milestone checkups for appropriate developmental milestones.

Developmental milestones are traditional milestones with either physical or mental characteristics that are first seen over time. For example, a 6-month-old child should be able to sit upright with help. If your child shows delayed or no developmental growth, our doctor recommends additional testing.

Types of Developmental Screenings

Our skilled providers at TLC Pediatrics, located in Norwalk, CT, state that developmental assessments and screenings involve a more in-depth process than a well-child visit assessment. Here are some of the evaluations that our doctor utilizes to determine your child's growth.

• PEDS - Short for Parents' Evaluation of Developmental Status - This test is for children under 8. It relies heavily on parental observations because the parents are with their child most of the time, so they are the best ones to assess their child.
• CDI - Short for Child Development Inventories  - includes a total of three separate 60-question tests that look at all the separate developmental areas, such as fine and gross motor skills, self-help, social development, and language.
• Ages and Stages test - A questionnaire with the answer choices "yes," "not yet," and "sometimes" aimed at kids under age 5 and 1/2 years.
• M-CHAT - Is short for Modified Checklist for Autism in Toddlers, a yes or no test for children under the age of 30 months.

Preparation For Testing

Depending on the age of your child there are no preparations to make for your child in advance of testing.

You may want to have a snack for your younger children if our doctor plans to test your child in our medical office or other facility. Once the testing is over, our doctor should schedule an appointment with you to go over the testing results.

Depending on the results, our doctor may ask you to do developmental monitoring at home, or we may refer you to a specialist for additional testing - treatment.

Call Us Today For Your Appointment

Our providers at TLC Pediatrics located in Norwalk, CT, are waiting to discuss your child's developmental assessments and screenings today.

Give our office a call at (203) 855-7551 and make an appointment.