If you are concerned that your young child is not meeting early developmental milestones, displays difficulty communicating, has trouble socializing with peers, or is struggling at school, then an evaluation can be useful in understanding your child’s developmental, social, and learning needs.
As outlined by notable child psychiatrist Stanley Greenspan, MD, there are six fundamental milestones critical to healthy growth for every young child:
- Taking an interest in the sights, sounds, and sensations of the world
- Engaging in 2-way communication with others and forming relationships
- Developing independent wishes, ideas, and interests
- Making ideas connect and come to life
- Recognizing and solving problems
- Regulating emotions and tolerating reasonable levels of frustration
These milestones are more or less challenging for a child depending on individual temperament, learning style, neurological functioning, as well as social, cultural and economic experience. However, when a child’s daily functioning is affected over a significant period of time due to issues in these core areas of development, various types of assessments can be used to understand a child’s differences.
How Can I Know if My Child Is Developing Typically?
While there are various types of evaluations available that measure a child’s learning, social, and developmental functioning, a good first step is to see a developmental-behavioral pediatrician. Just as a pediatrician assesses your child’s physical health, a developmental-behavioral pediatrician can assess your child’s developmental, social, linguistic, cognitive, and physical growth.
Developmental-behavioral pediatricians are medical doctors who undergo additional training and study in all areas of child development, including cognitive skills (such as memory and problem-solving), verbal expression and comprehension, visual responsiveness, social interaction, emotional and behavioral health, movement and gross motor skills (such as walking or stair climbing), fine motor skills (such as writing), and eye-hand-body coordination (such as throwing a ball).
To find a developmental-behavioral pediatrician in NYC, you can search the directory of American Academy of Pediatrics, visit a local family center for recommendations, ask other parents at a parenting group or in a parent e-forum, or go to Urban Exceptional’s Facebook group and ask our community.
Going to a developmental-behavioral pediatrician and other types of private evaluation practitioners can be costly. If cost is a factor, you can also seek out a free developmental screening through the NYC Department of Health if your child is 0-3 years old or contact the NYC Department of Education if your child is 3+ years.