Anyone know what Childfind testing is like for a 3 year old?

[Anonymous]

The ChildFind people at Devonshire in N. VA didn't feel that the testing we already have from private therapists meets their criteria so we have to go through an eval. What should I expect? My child is shy so I am concerned about performance. Sounds like they plan to do the full range-speech, OT, etc. How are the testers? What was your experience like? Any advice? Thanks in advance.

[Anonymous]

Did they do the screening yet? We just completed the entire process and boy is it a long one! My initial screening was in September and we got qualified on Feb 1. We had a good experience with the evaluators. My advice would be to be very, very honest on any of the questionairres. It also helped a lot that my ds preschool teacher gave a compelling testimony on ds's issues. Regarding the shyness, they will let you come with your child during screening. feel free to ask more specific questions.

[Anonymous]

OP here..had a moment to check back..thank you. I don't know if the paperwork counted as a screen. They found it helpful, but said they needed to do an eval. because they like certain tests and some of what I submitted wasn't recent enough. I think the paperwork may have helped us skip the screen?

I am concerned because when my child is anxious it's hard to process questions. Also, if the tester isn't warm and sweet it may not go well. I told the team I spoke with via phone for the first step that I would be happy to sign releases so they can talk with preschool teachers and ST and OT to get a real picture. I was told testing would be 2 days, an hour or more per day. What can you do to evaluate a child so young? Puzzles? That would be fine. Vocab questions? IQ tests? The private evals were so laid back and informal. This seems more formal. I want my child to qualify, but I don't want this eval to be an underestimate.

[Anonymous]

17:46 again...my ds was a little bit older (4 yrs old) so I am not sure if the tests would be different or not. I know they did break them up over 3 testing sessions. The first was cognitive and that was a long one (2 hours). I think some of it was hands on (puzzles, stacking blocks, drawing, pretend play) and some of it was more standardized. Then we came back another one for OT/PT (we already had an informal SPD dx) which was basicly playing. Then because my ds is a rising kindergartner, they had us come back a 3rd time for Achievement Testing. I will say that my ds loved going there. He would routinely ask me when we were going to go back to play with the teachers so they must have made it fun.

[Anonymous]

OP again-thank you! How sweet that your ds enjoyed himself so much he wanted to go back. Makes me feel better. Glad to hear there's lots of play. If there are fun toys I think we can manage this. The standardized part may be hit or miss depending on comfort level. I don't know how multiple teachers is going to work out-may be overwhelming, but we'll see. Just glad to hear it's mostly play.

[Anonymous]

17:46/19:23: If you don't mind, what was the outcome and can you describe your child's issues? I ask because I have a (just turned) 5 year old with some sensory and fine motor issues. I had her scheduled to be evaluated, then canceled because the process seemed like it would take forever and people told me they only give you services if the disability is severe and I wasn't sure she'd qualify. We went with private, which might be the wrong move. Now, of course, I'm second guessing myself.

[Anonymous]

good morning! it's 17:46/19;23 here... our situation was pretty unique. Here is the abridged version. ds was a late walker/talker but never qualified under ITC. We started private ST when he was 3 at his preschool. Around 3.5, the teachers noticed some sensory avoidance/motor planning issues and we started private OT at the preschool when he was 4. The main reason I did the ChildFind process was to create a paper trail for when he started Kindergarten.

So, we started the process in September. In December, we discovered that what we thought was sensory overload/auitory processing induced blank staring spells were actually Absence Seizures. We got that dx from our neurologist the week after all of the testing was completed. ds's cognitive skills in the assesments were all over the place because he was probably having these seizures all the time during the evaluation. The only tests that were done after the dx was the 20 min achievement test and we noticed that he had 3 seizures during that time so who knows how many he had during the 2 hr cognitive assesments.

Because ds has the absence seizures dx, we were able to qualify under Other Health Impairment (as opposed to Developmental Delay). He qualified for PT/OT. I am not sure if we didn't have the OHI designation if we would have qualified.

That being said, once you start Kindergarten, the teachers will be doing evals during the first couple of weeks or you can express your concern to your teacher to get the process going.

HTH's! feel free to ask more ???'s if that wasn't clear. I know the process can be so frustrating so if I can help at all I am glad to!

[Anonymous]

My son (now 5) was evaluated by Child Find when he was 2 1/2. Things may have changed since his testing, but I don't think it took very long.

He was enrolled in a private neighborhood preschool and the teachers there had concerns about his development, so they recommended a Child Find evaluation. The Child Find office in Lorton sent us a packet of forms to complete, including family history, medical history, etc. and then we scheduled an initial evaluation.

The initial evaluation was maybe an hour at the most, during which my son played and was asked to do some tasks like feed a baby doll, stack blocks, pick a certain animal from a group of toys, sort shapes, etc. Then, the lady watched how he played independently for a few minutes - to observe whether he actually played with toys appropriately or just lined things up.

My son's initial evaluation led to a slightly longer visit, in which he was asked to do a little more - color, draw a picture, answer a few questions, identify items on flashcards, etc. If the initial evaluation hadn't raised concerns, I'm sure that would have been the end of it.

He qualified for a Preschool Autism Class, which was wonderful and he has since made a lot of progress. We're hoping for even more progress when he reaches Kindergarten.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:good morning! it's 17:46/19;23 here... our situation was pretty unique. Here is the abridged version. ds was a late walker/talker but never qualified under ITC. We started private ST when he was 3 at his preschool. Around 3.5, the teachers noticed some sensory avoidance/motor planning issues and we started private OT at the preschool when he was 4. The main reason I did the ChildFind process was to create a paper trail for when he started Kindergarten.

So, we started the process in September. In December, we discovered that what we thought was sensory overload/auitory processing induced blank staring spells were actually Absence Seizures. We got that dx from our neurologist the week after all of the testing was completed. ds's cognitive skills in the assesments were all over the place because he was probably having these seizures all the time during the evaluation. The only tests that were done after the dx was the 20 min achievement test and we noticed that he had 3 seizures during that time so who knows how many he had during the 2 hr cognitive assesments.

Because ds has the absence seizures dx, we were able to qualify under Other Health Impairment (as opposed to Developmental Delay). He qualified for PT/OT. I am not sure if we didn't have the OHI designation if we would have qualified.

That being said, once you start Kindergarten, the teachers will be doing evals during the first couple of weeks or you can express your concern to your teacher to get the process going.

HTH's! feel free to ask more ???'s if that wasn't clear. I know the process can be so frustrating so if I can help at all I am glad to!

Thanks so much!!!!! I'm glad to know they will do some evaluating in kindergarten. DD's delays are "moderate" according to the OT but her current preschool teacher thinks she's within the range of normal (and she is an experienced teacher). I kind of doubt Childfind would have found her eligible for services, but I'm glad to know I didn't blow my only shot if she does need them.

[Anonymous]

I have sat in on a couple childfind evals. Part of my schooling. I was allowed to conduct one. I did the part where we test the child. I did mind on a 3 year old who was a late talker, had bathroom issues, and should some behavior issues.

During the test we ask them to color, cut and paste. Also ask them shapers, colors, and letters.

Sometimes they do other things ask them to ride on a tricyle, follow simple instructions.

We asked her about her family, what she liked.

There are more parts were other filled in.

In the end the one I worked with was eligible for headstart because of speak issues and the bathroom related issues.

She tested above average on everything we asked but listening to simple instructions was very hard.

Delightful little girl.

I think childfind does a great job for the most parts. I have only heard complaints from people who did it through fairfax only because there are so many ESL children in the area.

A good friend of mine does evals all the time. I know she enjoys doing them because it helps the parents.

I have done other evals part of school again. I will tell you all the ones I have done I got better results with mom or dad was out of the room. Sometimes they could watch through a mirrow window.

I wouldnt worry about your little one being shy most people who do these evals do it because they love their job and want to help.

[Anonymous]

Hi Op. My 3 year old did an eval back in Nov. The evaluators are SO nice! very kid friendly. My child is very outgoing but they are very warm and friendly and I think even a shy child would feel comfortable. Our DS concern was speech...his initial test wasn't too long and they tested everything speech, fine motor and gross motor. Gross motor was mostly jumping on 1 foot and hopscotch.n Speech was flash cards, asking colors, shapes that sort of thing. He than went for a more in depth evaluation with a speech therapist. Once his attention span was lost (after about 45 min) she didn't push him which was nice. My DS goes to a regular preschool and was functions fine but was still found eligible since his speech has a lot of disfluency.