How to Find Special Education Services for a Preschooler

When a parent is concerned about her child’s development, she will usually bring these concerns up with the child’s pediatrician. Sometimes the developmental delay is quite obvious so the pediatrician will refer the parent for follow-up. Other times the delays are not as pronounced and the doctor may want to take a wait and see approach. Fortunately, public school districts provide developmental assessments for children, usually starting around the age of 3. Read on to learn how to find special education services for a preschooler.

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderately Challenging

1. Look up the contact information for your local school district in your phone book. You will want to contact the District Office’s Special Education department.
2. Call the Special Education department and ask to be connected to someone who deals with preschool special education services. Explain to the representative that you are looking for information on Child Find services in the district. Child Find is a national program with the goal of locating and identifying all preschool children that have developmental delays and providing them with an adequate early childhood education program.
3. Make an appointment with the district’s Child Find representative. Some districts will have a general meeting that concerned parents can attend with their children. During this meeting, trained early childhood educators will screen your child and then determine whether a more in-depth follow-up is needed. These general meetings typically occur in the summer so you may not have one available. This does not mean that the school district cannot assess your child however.
4. Gather all of your pregnancy records as well as information on your child’s development. When you meet with the early childhood educators for the special education assessment, you will be required to fill out several different forms with the details of your pregnancy. It is important to disclose if you had any pregnancy or birth complications. You will also be asked at what age your child reached certain developmental milestones. The educators will use this information, in combination with their assessment, to determine if special education services are warranted.
5. Educate yourself. Prior to the appointment, spend some time understanding exactly what Child Find dictates. Since the Child Find program is a federal program that is part of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, there are certain measures that must be taken by the local school district to ensure that they are following the Child Find guidelines. If you take some time prior to the appointment to educate yourself on the process, you will be able to be a more active participant in the search for your child’s special education services.