The social history parent interview is the first step in the evaluation process, and is generally performed by a social worker, in the family’s home. Interviews are conducted in the language that the parents are most comfortable with, with translators provided when necessary. During the interview, detailed information is collected from the parents, including their concerns and reasons for seeking an evaluation; the child’s birth history and early developmental information; and the child’s medical and family history. The goal of the social history interview is to compile relevant background data so that the individual evaluators will have all of the necessary information pertinent to the child’s overall medical and developmental profile. The social history will include information regarding the child’s environment, such as family composition, family interactions, and the child’s behavior and relationships within the family. During the social history interview, the details of the evaluation process are explained to parents, consent to conduct all evaluations is obtained, and parents have an opportunity to ask questions and share concerns. Yeled v’Yalda values parent involvement and participation throughout the entire evaluation process; parents receive written copies of all evaluations performed, have the opportunity to participate in all discussion and decision-making processes regarding services to be provided, and have the right to due process and mediation if necessary.

Psychological evaluations are typically done by a school psychologist, and assess a child’s current level of functioning in areas of cognitive, developmental, behavioral, adaptive, and social-emotional skills. Evaluators look at factors such as general intelligence and mental function, social and emotional development, learning strengths and weaknesses, and personality and behavioral traits. Informal observation, parent and teacher interviews, and standardized testing are done to assess the child’s cognitive functioning (such as reasoning, problem-solving, and memory); adaptive skills (such as communication, motor, and self-help abilities); and social-emotional development (such as establishing relationships, personality, and behavior).

Educational evaluations assess a range of areas which contribute to a child’s overall ability to learn. They are conducted by education specialists and are required by the Department of Education to be conducted in the child’s preschool or day care setting. Educational evaluations include components such as a clinical observation in the classroom environment, a parent interview, a teacher interview, and a formal assessment of the five main areas of child development (cognitive, language, physical, social-emotional, and adaptive skills). Based on the child’s performance on the formalized testing and clinical observations, as well as on the information gathered in the parent and teacher interviews, the educational evaluator will recommend additional assessments to be performed (such as speech, occupational, or physical therapy evaluations). The educational evaluator then compiles all necessary information and submits requests for these assessments to the Department of Education, which either approves or denies the additional testing.

Speech and language evaluations are performed by licensed speech language pathologists and assess a wide range of skills pertaining to children’s language and communication abilities, as well as to their oral motor and feeding function. The speech-language clinician gathers information through informal measures (such as eliciting impressions and concerns from parents and teachers, and speaking and playing with the child), as well as formal measures (direct standardized testing). A wide range of skills are assessed, including the child’s development of language “form” (sounds, sound combinations, and sentence formation); language semantics or “function” (meanings of words and sentences); and language pragmatics or “use” (how language is applied to share information and communicate successfully with others). Speech evaluations also examine a variety of factors that affect speech production, such as articulation, voice quality, fluency, and oral motor development (strength and range of motion of the lips, tongue, and jaw), as well as feeding skills. A hearing evaluation may be recommended if there are any concerns or indications of a hearing loss.

Occupational therapy evaluations are conducted by a licensed occupational therapist based on concerns regarding a child’s fine motor or sensory integration skills. Fine motor skills involve the small muscle movements required to use the fingers, hands, and wrists, and coordinating them with eye movement. Fine motor skills involve abilities such as picking up, reaching, grasping, and releasing. Occupational therapy evaluations assess issues such as range of motion; postural control and stability; balance, muscle tone and strength; fine motor skills; sensory processing and sensory integration; and vestibular, auditory, olfactory, visual, and tactile processing

A physical therapy evaluation is conducted by a licensed physical therapist to address concerns regarding a child’s gross motor skills, which are controlled by the larger muscles in the arms, legs, and upper body and torso. Gross motor activities include actions such as walking, running, throwing, and kicking. Gross motor skills also refer to issues such as body awareness and overall strength and balance. A comprehensive physical therapy evaluation looks at issues such as range of motion, protective reflexes, balance and equilibrium, muscle tone and strength, posture and gait, and gross motor abilities.