Screening young children is an effective, efficient way to check a child’s development, help celebrate a child’s milestones, and determine whether follow-up steps are needed. It is also an essential first step toward identifying children with delays or disabilities in the critical early years, before they start school. Research shows that children who qualify and receive intervention services are more likely to be successful readers, less likely to continue needing special education services later in life, more likely to have improved social skills, and are more likely to graduate from high school.
The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends developmental and behavioral screening for all children at these ages:
- 9 months
- 18 months
- 24 or 30 months
Please join our First Lady Tracey Quillen Carney as she shares an important message for families and providers about Developmental Screening in the First State. New state legislation effective, July 1, 2023, assures that young children, and their families will have access to the Ages & Stages Questionnaire prior to Kindergarten through their child care provider. For families, whose children are at home, the Ages & Stages Questionnaire is directly available for free through the Delaware Department of Education website.
The following video is designed for families to learn the differences between developmental monitoring and developmental screening for young children ages birth through five as well as how to support their children as they grow and learn.
This training was developed by the University of Delaware Center for Disabilities Studies in collaboration with the Delaware Department of Education Office of Early Learning.
This work was supported in part by a sub-award from the Association of University Centers on Disabilities/Centers for Disease Control and Prevention cooperative agreement (6 NU38OT000280-02-02).
How can I ensure my child is screened?
If you would like to complete a screening questionnaire for your child, then please select their school district below to access the screening tool. If you don’t know your child’s school district, you can find their district on our school locator. Make sure you enter the child care center address, not your home address. If you are unsure of your child care’s address, find the address on our child care locator.
What screening tool is being used?
Ages & Stages Questionnaires®, Third Edition (ASQ®-3) and Ages and Stages Social Emotional Questionnaires (ASQ:SE:2) are used in Delaware by early educators. They rely on parents as experts, are easy to use, family friendly, and create the snapshot needed to catch delays and celebrate milestones.
Want to learn more about your child’s development?
Milestones matter! Track your child’s milestones from age 2 months to 5 years with CDC’s easy-to-use illustrated checklists; get tips from CDC for encouraging your child’s development; and find out what to do if you are ever concerned about how your child is developing with CDC’s milestone tracker app and accompanying resources. Here is a resource you may find helpful: CDC’s Developmental Milestones
Early Childhood Providers: FREE required orientation trainings to access the ASQ Online System
Once you have completed the orientation trainings and received DIEEC Credits, please submit a support request to receive your ASQ Online Account information. Once your request has been processed, you will be contacted via email with your log in information, orientation materials, and link for the ASQ Developmental Screening Provider Office Hours noted below. For step by step guidance on using the ASQ system, click “For Early Childhood Programs” in the Delaware Technical Manuals and download the ASQ Provider Manual.
Delaware Technical Manuals for the ASQ online data system
ASQ Provider Manual for Early Childhood Programs
For Birth to Three Early Intervention Program
Developmental Screening in Child Care Programs: What Families Need to Know Fact Sheet
Developmental Screening Process Frequently Asked Questions
Resources For Providers
If you need to register or do not have access to your ASQ Portals for whatever reason, please submit a support request. Once your request has been processed, you will be contacted via email with your log in information for you to access your portals. You can find your manual with step by step guidance for using the ASQ system in the Delaware Technical Manuals for the ASQ Data System section “For Early Childhood Programs”.
ASQ Developmental Screening Provider Office Hours:
Offered virtually on the 2nd Monday of the month from 1:30-2:30 p.m. Content includes an overview of ASQ Online platform, training opportunities, and specific support for providers. Meeting information sent monthly via ASQ Internal User email blast to those already registered in the DDOE ASQ Online Enterprise Account.
For more information and history on Delaware’s developmental screening initiative, please watch our ASQ Innovators Webinar with Brookes Publishing.
