Anyone's DC in Birth to 3?

*Amy*

Anthony's evaluation is tomorrow b/c I feel like he is behind in his speech/language development. I know though that they do test him in all areas of development. Has anyone gone through this that could give me any insight in what the session will look like. I am hoping he qualifies, because as the days go on it seems like the kids his age and younger just speak so much more, as well as sing, count, etc. I know I am not supposed to compare, but sometimes it is hard, especially when we are out and people sort of "expect" him to speak more. Thanks.

wellfleet04

Kate was in EI (which is what B to 3 is called here) for totrticollis and gross motor delay from 3-11 months old.   The evaluation is more like play for Anthony, and they will ask him to do certain tasks, point to things in books, etc.  They have a checklist that they will score him on to determine his age level in the development areas.  Here in MA they evaluate gross motor, fine motor, expressive/receptive language, cognition, social/personal, and adaptive/self care.  He will need a certain percentage delay in one or more areas to qualify, depending on your state's rules.  Kate qualified automatically with a medical diagnosis (torticollis) but also qualified again with a delay at 16 months in gross motor.

They will ask ask you questions about what A can and can't do and use that to inform the scorecard.  They bring their own toys and tools, and will also incorporate yours to make sure that if A can do a skill he demonstrates it. HTH. 

Hooray2005

Hey, nice to "see"  you!

In most cases, I'm guessing it will look like they're playing with DS - they'll ask him to try to do lots of things, but they'll almost always be play-based, so he won't even know he's being "evaluated."  DS's happened right on our living room floor and lasted a little over an hour. I guarantee they'll ask him to do things that are too-easy, just-about-right and too-difficult for him - so they can know where he's falling relative to his peers.  They'll likely ask you, too, about what he can/can't say or do (sometimes children clam up during the assessment, so they have to turn to parents for information.)

It's important to try to report what he can/can't do accurately, and err on the side of a "less is more" approach when answering their questions - it's easy to over-estimate what our little kiddos can do (which can accidentally place them out of services they needed).

If he doesn't qualify, but you really feel like he should have, it can't hurt to ask the "I really think he should be qualifying, how do I appeal this decision" question - then they'll know you're serious about getting help for your child (and are "up" on the early intervention process/procedures).

GL tomorrow

Littlejen22

In NJ they areas are the same/similar.   They did ask me a ton of questions and use that to score him since they do not expect to see a ton from the child during evaluation.  My normally very shy DS LOVED the evaluation and thought it was a play date.  Since then his speech has improved a ton even though he just started speech therapy 2 weeks ago.  He qualified for his speaking (I forget what part of communication that is) but scored ahead for receptive and everything else.  I love that even the evaluation gave me ideas and lit a fire under both of us.