Free screening tool helps parents determine if kids are on track

Every year more than 1 million children start school with unidentified disabilities that put them far behind their peers, according to a recent report released by Easter Seals.

The critical first step to identifying these children and providing services is developmental screening. However, the 2007 National Survey of Children’s Health reports that less than 20 percent of children younger than 5 receive a screening using a parent-reported standardized tool. Access to the highly respected developmental screening tool Ages & Stages Questionnaires, Third Edition (ASQ-3), published by Brookes Publishing Co., is now available through Easter Seals.

The ASQ-3 screening tool is free and can be completed by parents and caregivers in 10 to 15 minutes. Parents can use the results of the screening to monitor their child’s development and identify potential issues so that concerns are addressed as early as possible and help can begin before he or she enters school.

“We strongly believe that all children — regardless of ability, background, learning difference or life challenge — deserve to meet their potential,” says Jeffrey D. Brookes, president of Brookes Publishing Co.

The first five years of life are crucial in shaping a child’s future in terms of learning. Unidentified delays and disabilities can have a lasting, negative effect on a child’s ability to achieve his or her full potential.

“The online screening tool is an effective first step toward identifying if a child could benefit from early intervention services,” says James E. Williams Jr., president and CEO of Easter Seals.

For more information, go to www.makethefirstfivecount.org.