You and/or your child may receive services at one of our four locations: Oceanside, San Diego (Rady Children’s main campus) or Chula Vista. To determine how we can best serve you and your child, you will have an initial call with one of our care coordinators who will gather information about your child and any concerns you may have. We may then ask you to schedule a developmental and behavioral assessment for your child at one of our three convenient locations.
Developmental specialists are available on site to determine whether your child’s development and behavior are age-appropriate. Specifically, these specialists assess:
- Speech and language development
- Behavior
- Motor skills
- Problem-solving and social skills
The assessment lasts approximately 60-90 minutes.
After your child has had a developmental and behavioral assessment, the assessment specialist may recommend that you and your child participate in classes or consults, or access other programs available to you through Healthy Development Services or within the San Diego community.
Some portions of the assessment are informed by the parent and other parts are administered by a C3 assessment specialist. For example, the parent will complete a questionnaire about what the child is able to do in her home, and the C3 assessment specialist will observe how a child performs during play-based activities (e.g., stacking blocks, feeding a doll). We also conduct developmental and behavioral assessments at partner locations in the community. Please let us know if you are interested in learning more about additional locations where we offer our services.
Here are some of the tools that may be used:
- The Ages and Stages Questionnaire (ASQ-3) assesses all areas of development, including language, adaptive, fine motor, gross motor and personal-social skills, in children ages 2-60 months.
- The Ages & Stages Questionnaire: Social-Emotional (ASQ:SE) assesses social and emotional development in children older than 6 months.
- The Hawaii Early Learning Profile (HELP) assesses cognitive, language, gross motor, fine motor, social and self-help skills. An assessment specialist initially completes the tool with parent input and reviews it periodically to document progress. All children receiving C3 developmental services are eligible for this assessment.
- The Devereux Early Childhood Assessment (DECA) is a strength-based instrument that assesses children ages 1-60 months for behavioral concerns. The DECA measures child protective factors to better understand a child’s behavioral and social strengths as well as needs.
- The Modified Checklist for Autism in Toddlers (M-CHAT) assesses early signs of autism in children ages 15 to 30 months. The screening is completed by the caregiver.
Depending upon the outcome of the developmental and behavioral assessment, C3 staff may suggest parent-child interactive classes and/or individual consultation services.
In the event your child does not qualify for our services, C3 staff will refer you to the appropriate agency for further evaluation and/or early intervention services in the community.