Who should evaluate your child

In our program, we have a multidisciplinary clinic that meets together a few times per month. We evaluate three children in the morning, with a rotating system, and then meet with the parents in the afternoon to discuss our findings and recommendations. Many early intervention programs offer a similar clinic.

In other programs, the different professionals assess a child one at a time, often in the child’s home. In some cases, the evaluating clinicians meet together at the end to compile... more

How to get an assessment for your child

In most cases, a parent’s first step is to get a referral from their child’s doctor. Unfortunately, there are far too many physicians who prefer to take a “wait and see” approach, and this is absolutely inappropriate for a child “at risk” because of his or her birth/developmental history. Parents themselves can also make the referral, so while a physician referral is ideal, it isn’t essential.

If you have a child under the age of 6, you’ll need to connect with your city or county’s... more

Most families who adopt waste no time having their children seen by a pediatrician or other appropriate physician. Particularly when children are adopted internationally, there are all sorts of things to rule out and check for (parasites and malnutrition being two we’re still battling, three months later). Those who adopt newborns domestically with known drug and/or alcohol exposure also are typically given a medical care plan at placement, and older, domestically adopted children can have their own medical issues that need to be addressed. ... more