What to Expect during the Preschool Child Development Screening

Once the screening request form is submitted, you will be contacted by the Early Childhood staff regarding the time and details of the screening.

You will be mailed a social emotional screening form to complete and bring along on the scheduled date and time of your child’s screening.

On the day of the screening

• You will bring your child to G.D. Jones Elementary and sign in at the front office.  Early Childhood staff will then meet you in the lobby of the school OR you will be given a virtual meeting link and code to attend a virtual screening.
• Staff will share information and resources with you regarding typical development and community resources.
• Staff will then work with your child to complete speech and language-based screening as well as general developmental screening to look at the areas of: fine motor, problem solving/memory, language, gross motor (please note that the general developmental screening is not able to be completed on children who are younger than 3 years old, but speech and language-based screening and social emotional screenings are still able to be completed).
• After screenings are completed, staff will share the results of the screening with you which could indicate:
  • Your child’s development appears to be on track based on the results of the screening and no further steps are needed at this time.
  • There are concerns which would indicate the need for further testing through a special education evaluation referral.

Please note that the developmental screening process is not at step in the special education referral and evaluation process nor will it determine if your child will receive special education services.

If you suspect that your child has a disability, a special education referral can be made by contacting the 4K & EC Programs office at 715-261-0265.