Evaluations from Birth to 21

Are you concerned that your child isn’t learning, playing, growing, talking, or walking like other children their age?

Do you have questions about your young person with a disability?

Whether its Early Intervention or special education services, your child may need an evaluation to get started. The types of evaluations administered depend on your child’s age.

Birth – 3 years old

NYC Early Intervention Program 
NYC Dept. of Health and Mental Hygiene

 Track your young child’s developmental milestones with CDC Milestone Tracker. 

At this stage, your child’s evaluation will include: 

• Cognitive  Development: Assesses attention, memory, purposive planning, decision making.
• Communication: Assesses receptive and expressive language.  
• Social Emotional Development: Assesses social interactions.  
• Adaptive Behavior Development: Assesses self-help skill development.
• Physical Development: Includes assessment of fine motor movements, the use of small muscles in our hands and wrists, and gross motor development, which requires whole body movement that involve the large muscles

Parent interviews and medical evaluation are also conducted at this stage.

 2 ½- 4 ½ years old

Committee on Preschool Special Education (CPSE)

NYC Department of Education (NYCDOE) 

Track your young child’s developmental milestones with CDC Milestone Tracker.

At this stage, your child’s evaluation will include: 

• Parent interview to determine social history and development 
• Psychological evaluation 
• Observation of your child in their typical daily setting, e.g.classroom, home, or daycare
• Medical evaluation (medical forms will need to be filled out by your child’s health provider)
• Individual evaluations are conducted as required/upon request to determine eligibility of services and accommodations, e.g. speech and language therapy, occupational therapy, physical therapy, and/or additional educational assessments.

 4 ½ – 21 years old

Committee on Special Education (CSE)
NYC Department of Education (NYCDOE)*

At this stage, a child’s evaluation will include: 

• Parent interview to determine social history and development
• Psychological and psychoeducational evaluation 
• Classroom observation of your child 
• Medical evaluation/review of records (medical forms will need to be filled out by your child’s health provider)
• Individual evaluations are conducted as required/upon request to determine eligibility of services and accommodations, e.g. speech and language therapy, occupational therapy, physical therapy, assistive technology, and/or a functional behavior assessment testing

*The school-based IEP team fulfills this role for NYC public school students.