Parenting: Tracking your child’s development
Children develop and change at different paces but how do you know if your child is falling behind, missing critical developmental steps, or demonstrating concerning behavior? These are common concerns for parents and there are a variety of resources that can help you determine if further evaluation is needed.
CDC Milestone App is smart phone app for tracking your child’s developmental progress. You can begin tracking at two months and continue until age five. The app provides videos and photos to help you identify the skills that should be developing at each stage. Tips for interacting with your child and activities to help their skill acquisition are also provided as well as summaries that can be used to communicate with your pediatrician or other health providers.
Developmental Milestones Checklists (Spanish Version) are checklists of developmental milestones by age. These checklists provide information for children birth to 48 months of age. They also provide information on “red flags” or behaviors that indicate additional assessment is needed.
Autism Speaks Learn the Signs provides an overview of specific behaviors at each age that may indicate a child is at risk of having Autism Spectrum Disorder. They also provide a link to an online screening tool called the M-CHAT which is commonly used by pediatricians and developmental specialists. If your child scores above the cut-off on this screening tool the results should be taken and discussed with your pediatrician.
Next steps
Early identification is key when children are experiencing delays in development. The earlier that children with delays are identified the earlier that the child and their family can get support to help them catch up. Each state has a program to provide support and intervention for children under 3 years old. Most of these programs will provide an in-home evaluation of your child’s development and if any delays are found they will provide in-home parental support and intervention. The CDC provides a list of contact information for each state’s early intervention program HERE.
Your pediatrician is another important resource. Your pediatrician should be regularly screening your child at well-child visits to ensure that development is progressing smoothly. You can also request screenings from your pediatrician if you have specific concerns, see this article by the CDC about best practices in autism screening by pediatricians.
If your child is school-aged and you have concerns regarding their progress academically you can request an evaluation through their school district. See our IEP page for additional resources and information.
Remember that you are the expert on your child and their best advocate. If you have concerns, use these and any other additional resources at your disposal to ensure that they receive a thorough evaluation. Getting support and intervention as early as possible is key for positive outcomes.
