Worried About Your Pre-school Child’s Development? How a Developmental Assessment Can Help

Wendy Joy
12 hours ago
4 min read

As a parent or carer, you know your child better than anyone. You may have noticed that they are developing differently from other children their age, or perhaps their nursery or preschool has raised some concerns.

You may be wondering whether your child simply needs a little more time, whether some additional support could help, or whether there may be something more that needs to be explored.

A pre-school developmental assessment can help provide a clearer picture of how your child is developing and identify what support, if any, may be helpful.

What is a developmental assessment?

Children's development is complex, and it does not always fit neatly into one area.

A child may have differences in their communication and language, social interaction, play, physical development, sensory processing or everyday skills. Sometimes these differences overlap, making it difficult to understand what is happening by looking at just one aspect of development.

A holistic developmental assessment considers the whole child rather than focusing on one area in isolation.

At Total Children’s Therapy, our TCT Pre-school Developmental Assessment brings together experienced professionals from our multi agency assessment team to build a clearer picture of your child’s strengths, needs and development.

Where appropriate, we can also work alongside your child’s nursery or preschool and other professionals involved in their care.

When might a developmental assessment be helpful?

Every child develops at their own pace, and there is no single checklist that can tell you whether an assessment is needed.

However, you may wish to seek advice if you or your child's nursery or preschool have ongoing concerns about areas such as:

Communication or understanding language
Social interaction and communication
Playing with or alongside other children
Developing age-appropriate play skills
Physical development or movement
Sensory processing
Everyday independence and self-care
Behaviour that is difficult to understand or manage
Reaching developmental milestones
Preparing for the transition into school

You do not need to have all of these concerns for an assessment to be useful.

Sometimes, the most helpful first step is simply to bring together the information already available and look at the wider picture.

Why is a holistic assessment useful?

Children's development does not always fit neatly into one professional area.

Bringing together different professional perspectives can help identify patterns that may otherwise be missed and provide a more rounded understanding of your child's strengths and needs.

Our TCT assessment pathway may involve experienced therapists from occupational therapy, physiotherapy and speech and language therapy, alongside a senior therapist and, where appropriate, a consultant paediatrician.

Information from parents and your child's early years setting can also be an important part of understanding how your child manages different environments.

The aim is not simply to identify difficulties. It is to understand what your child is doing well, where they may need support and what could help them next.

What happens during a TCT Pre-school Developmental Assessment?

Our assessment follows a three-step pathway, although not every child will need all three steps.

Step 1 – Developmental Assessment

Step 1 is available for preschool children of any age.

It includes information gathering, a parent consultation, a joint clinic appointment with experienced therapists, observation within your child's nursery or preschool setting (or a home visit where appropriate), feedback and a written summary.

Following Step 1, our team will consider the findings and discuss the most appropriate next steps with you.

This might include therapeutic support, advice for home or nursery, a review, onward referral or support with transition to school.

If the team feels that no additional support is needed at that time, a review and check-in may be offered within 12 weeks to make sure nothing has changed.

Step 2 – Further Assessment

If neurodivergent traits have been identified by more than one professional, the developmental history is supportive and the family would like to explore this further, Step 2 may be offered.

Step 2 includes SRS-2 questionnaires for home and setting and an ADOS assessment with a therapist from our multi agency assessment team.

Step 3 – Consultant Paediatric Assessment

Where appropriate, Step 3 includes a consultation with our consultant paediatrician.

The information gathered throughout the pathway is then considered by the multi agency assessment team, who meet to discuss the findings and consider whether the relevant threshold is met for a gold standard diagnosis.

The family will then receive feedback, conclusions, a written summary and recommendations.

Please note that Steps 2 and 3 are available to children aged 3 years and over who regularly attend a nursery or preschool setting.

What are the SRS-2 and ADOS assessments?

You may come across unfamiliar terms when looking into developmental or neurodevelopmental assessment.

The Social Responsiveness Scale, Second Edition (SRS-2) is a questionnaire completed by a parent or caregiver to help evaluate areas including social awareness, social communication and autistic traits. Information from a child's early years setting can also contribute to the assessment.

An ADOS assessment is a structured assessment used as part of an autism assessment. It provides an opportunity for an appropriately trained professional to observe aspects of communication, social interaction and behaviour in a structured setting.

These assessments are considered alongside the wider developmental history and information gathered during the assessment pathway rather than being looked at in isolation.

What happens after a developmental assessment?

An assessment should not simply leave you with a report and no idea what to do next.

Depending on your child's individual needs, recommendations may include therapeutic support, advice for home or nursery, further review, onward referral, nursery or preschool support and training, attendance at relevant meetings or support with transition to school.

Sometimes the most helpful outcome is reassurance that no additional support is needed at that time.

The purpose of the assessment is to help families understand their child's development and identify appropriate next steps.

Could a pre-school developmental assessment help your child?

If you have concerns about your preschool child's development, you do not have to work out what those concerns mean on your own.

A holistic assessment can help bring together the different pieces of information and provide a clearer picture of your child's strengths, needs and development.

Find out more about the TCT Pre-school Developmental Assessment

Our TCT Pre-school Developmental Assessment is available for preschool children in Dorset and provides a joined-up approach from our experienced multi agency assessment team.

You can download our detailed assessment flyer for information about what is included at each stage of the pathway.

If you are unsure whether the assessment is right for your child, please contact the TCT Office team to discuss your concerns.