CHILD FIND Sponsored by: The Northeast Regional Education Cooperative

 A systematic process of locating, identifying, and screening/evaluating, infants and children who are eligible or potentially eligible for enrollment in intervention programs and making them known to appropriate service providers. CHILD FIND

1. is experiencing developmental delays in one or more of the following areas: * physical development, including vision & hearing * cognitive development * communication development * social & emotional development or * adaptive development, and 2. has a diagnosed physical or mental condition that has a high probability of resulting in developmental delay. **This term also includes children from birth through age 2 who are at risk of having substantial developmental delays if early intervention services are not provided. A “child with a disability” is one who…

A “Child with a Disability” is a child who is evaluated as having :  Mental Retardation  Speech/Language Impairment  Specific Learning Disability  Hearing Impairment  Deafness  Visual Impairment/Blindness  Deaf/Blindness  Orthopedic Impairment  Emotional Disturbance  Autism  Traumatic Brain Injury  Multiple Disabilities  Other Health Impairment (ADD/ADHD)

Why Does It Matter? 1. It’s the LAW! * Under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA’97), “ the State must have in effect policies and procedures to ensure the locating, identification, and evaluation of children who have or may have disabilities and who:  reside within the district’s jurisdiction,  are attending private schools/facilities,  are schooled at home,  are highly mobile (such as migrant or homeless children), and  are advancing from grade to grade.

Why? continued… 2. Because Child Find activities and screening efforts have been based on the belief that early identification and subsequent intervention will prevent later problems and help children reach their maximum potential. 3. Because early identification and resulting intervention may have significant value for parents/families; i.e. addressing current difficulties and connecting them with appropriate support agencies.

What Is “Screening”?  A process of measuring infants and children (usually in large numbers) to identify those needing further assessment to determine whether they exhibit a condition or are at- risk to do so in the future.  The “key” question is… “Should this child be referred for diagnostic evaluation?”

What Does a Screening Measure? Developmental Areas:  Communication  Motor  Social/Emotional  Cognitive  Adaptive Behavior Other Focus Areas:  Developmental history: *pregnancy *perinatal factors *insults *course of development.  Physical Exam: *medical history *growth patterns  Vision/Hearing  Nutrition  Dental  No Diagnosis Can Be Based On Screening Results Alone!

Who Gets Screened?  Children “at risk” for developmental delay ↬ Established risk: Down’s, CP, ↬ Environmental risk: SES, abuse, neglect,poor modeling ↬ Biological risk: LBW, birth  Children whose parents are concerned about developmental progress  Screening activities should be initiated on the referral from almost any source: *parents *physicians *public health *other child care professionals

Successful Child Find Efforts:  Are year-round.  Are on-going.  Have interagency involvement and collaboration & coordination.  Meet the needs of individual communities.  Attempt to screen the masses and make referrals based on results.  Maintain family privacy.  Have effective ways of communicating with professionals and the public at large.

Child Find Activities  Brochures/posters in public places: Dr.’s offices, clinics, schools stores, public health dept., etc.  Public Service Announcements  Newspaper articles  Group presentations  Letters  Written notices sent home from schools  Annual screening fairs  Mobile screening units: shopping malls, county fairs, parks, libraries, etc.

To summarize…  Child Find is a systematic process  Specific eligibility criteria must be met  Screening * Is mandated by law (IDEA ‘97). * Is based on the belief that early ID and intervention can prevent later problems and help children reach their maximum potential. * Is of substantial value to families for addressing difficulties, answering questions/concerns, and connecting them with appropriate support agencies. * Should reach the masses.

Summary cont…. * measures various areas of development and is multi-disciplinary. * involves several components including: -referral source(s) -community demographics/geographical information -existing service availability -interagency collaboration, etc. -maintenance of privacy * Is year-round and on-going. * Should result in the implementation of services when deemed necessary.

Interested in Volunteering or in Learning More? Contact: Lisa Burciaga-Segura, Special Education Resource the Northeast Regional Education Cooperative Ph: