Early childhood evaluations help kids reach their developmental milestones

Does your infant or toddler shy away from others or stick close to you in new social situations? Do you wonder if they have the same skills you see in other children their age at the playground? Maybe your child doesn’t vocalize as much with other children as they do at home. Early childhood evaluations can support and offer peace of mind.

Pandemic consequences and developmental milestones

Being a parent can be exhausting, perhaps even more so during a pandemic. “Monitoring developmental milestones can be even more challenging for caregivers of children born during COVID,” shares Liz, Wonderland staff member. “The isolation made it difficult to compare their child’s progress to children around them.”

Wonderland Child & Family Service providers understand the unique and time-critical needs of infants and toddlers, because 85% of brain development happens before the age of five. According to King County Early Support for Infants and Toddlers, about one of every eight children has a challenge with development that makes them eligible for birth-to-three services. Everything from how and when your child smiles, rolls over, sits up, walks, talks, eats, or holds a cup shows how your child is growing through different developmental stages. Children grow and develop at their own pace but typically, children reach developmental milestones at certain ages. By assessing these key areas through early childhood evaluations, parents have time to seek out the help they need.

Supporting our children and where to get help

Early Support services are designed to help children birth to three with diverse needs meet important developmental milestones. This support gives children and their families the skills and confidence to reach their full potential. “Our providers give caregivers tools and strategies to best support their child’s development. We are here for the whole family,” says Liz.

One Wonderland family shares how working with Wonderland providers helped their child with feeding concerns. Mala explains, “Narain wasn’t interested in eating, but our occupational therapist told us to just let him taste and play with the food, and it was all over his face! We started the feeding program in May and at the end of the program, we came up to 90% oral feeding. Two weeks later, he is now 100% oral feeding!”

Wonderland Services: Easy to use and available to all

The sooner concerns are addressed, through early childhood evaluations, the better for rapidly developing brains. Wonderland therapists guide caregivers through every step of the process. Visit wonderlandkids.org for a free ASQ Developmental Screening or call for a developmental evaluation at no additional cost to your family! We are here to help.

“It was really easy – I just submitted a form online, got a call, and we did a virtual assessment. We were able to start Darren in speech therapy right away. He is super chatty now! We still have a long way to go, but people who were around him even just three months ago, frequently say, ‘Oh my gosh, he’s talking so much!’” says Nicole, a Wonderland parent.

Use Wonderland’s fast and free online developmental ASQ screener or sign up for a full developmental milestone evaluation at no additional cost to families.

Wonderland is always ready to support any child who is eligible for services. Contact us today at info@wonderlandkids.org to schedule an evaluation and ensure that your child is on track. Wonderland is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization. We proudly serve families regardless of income, insurance or ability to pay. Visit wonderlandkids.org to learn more.