A Young Child’s Assessment and Diagnosis

As a parent watching your young child grow, questions may come up about whether your child’s development is typical of children the same age. You may wonder about:

• signs that indicate a developmental delay
• what you can do if you have a concern
• What will happen after a diagnosis

This section will guide you through this process.

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This content is from Manitoba Government document in the series, Information for Manitobans with Disabilities. Click on the link to access the full document.

Do you have concerns about your child, but aren’t sure whether you should get it checked out?

If you are seeing that your child is not doing the things you would expect for a child of his or her age, particularly in the areas of communication (nonverbal and verbal), play, and interacting with familiar people, it’s best to seek a referral.  Your doctor or pediatrician can do that for you.

You can also read more about the process of diagnosis.

If it turns out your child just needed more time, nothing is lost.  If they do need support, you’ll have the diagnosis, which opens the door to services and supports to help you and your child.

In the meantime, the ideas and resources recommended on this website can only help – they are beneficial for every child.  You can begin implementing strategies to support your child’s growth right away.