Developmental Screenings

If any of the following questions apply to you, our expert professionals can help:

• Do you have questions regarding your child’s speech, language, or feeding skills?
• Are you concerned about your child not developing skills as quickly as other children?
• Do you need to pursue a comprehensive evaluation?
• Do you have questions about your preschooler’s speech sound development?
• Do you want reassurance that your child is on track with their development?

Why is Pediatric Development Screening recommended for your child?

The purpose of a screening is to find out if there are areas of concern that warrant an evaluation. If an evaluation is not found to be necessary, our professional staff provides parents with some helpful suggestions to work on with the child to address areas of concern.  Sometimes therapists will suggest a re-screening in the future.

What is a Pediatric Developmental Screening?

Pediatric developmental screenings are appropriate for children under the age of 6 and involve a therapist broadly and informally looking for age-appropriate skills.  Our therapists will talk to the parent(s) about why they are concerned.  Screenings are based primarily on observation and parent report, do not include standardized testing, and are less detailed than a full evaluation.   All screenings are FREE of charge, last about fifteen minutes, and help determine if a full evaluation and therapy are needed.

Why early detection & early intervention are so critical?

In the July 2010 issue of Pediatrics, an article, Speech Delay in Kids Linked to Later Emotional Problems, presented the results of a 29-year study of the impact on children with speech delays. The results showed children with speech delays were at a greater risk for developing social, emotional, or behavioral problems as adults. Overall, children who showed signs of delays in receptive language skills at age 5 were more likely to experience mental health problems at the age 34 than children who did not experience such delays. These findings were more pronounced among men than women.

Types of Developmental Screenings Offered:

• Speech & Language Screening – Our licensed speech-language pathologists look broadly at age-appropriate speech sounds, pronunciation, clarity, understanding, and use of language as well as oral motor strength and feeding skills.
• Occupational Therapy Screening – Our experienced occupational therapists are trained to examine a child’s fine motor abilities, upper body strength, muscle tone, visual tracking, and eye/hand coordination. They also look at the sensory system and how it is affecting attention, self-regulation, behavior, and motor skills.
• Behavior/Autism Screening – Our expert professionals are trained to observe how your toddler giggles, looks to you for reassurance, tries to regain your attention during a conversation, points or waves responds to his or her name, and cries. It is those observations that help identify children at risk for ASD.

Don’t delay, get the answer to your questions & schedule screening

Our pediatric screenings are offered by appointment only and are a convenient way to assess the progress of your child’s development. Screenings are conducted by one of our own licensed therapists and generally take about 15 minutes. Parents will have the opportunity to ask the therapist questions and learn how they can support their child’s development. Therapy cannot occur without a full evaluation.

Not able to make it to our therapy center? No Problem…

At Peak Potential Therapy, we understand the challenges of bringing your child into our practice for a short face to face developmental screening. For this reason, we offer developmental screenings over the phone or through the use of video conferencing.  On our resources page, we also offer several self-directed screenings that you can complete at home.