Developmental Domains

 

During your child's multidisciplinary evaluation, qualified professionals will look at five areas of development, also called developmental domains. These areas help the evaluation team understand your child's strengths, identify any areas where extra support may be needed, and determine if your child is eligible for the Early Intervention Program.

Communication Development

Communication is how your child understands others and shares their thoughts, wants, and needs. This includes using gestures, sounds, words, facial expressions, and body language.

As children grow, they begin to understand more of what is said to them and learn to communicate in many different ways. Some children may need extra support learning to understand language, express themselves, or develop speech and language skills. A loss of speech or language skills after they have developed should always be discussed with your child's healthcare provider.

Physical Development

Physical development includes how your child grows and moves, as well as their vision, hearing, and overall health.

During the evaluation, professionals look at your child's:

• Gross motor skills, such as rolling over, sitting, crawling, walking, and running.
• Fine motor skills, such as reaching, picking up small objects, drawing, and using their hands.
• Vision and hearing.
• Muscle strength, coordination, balance, and movement.
• Feeding and swallowing skills, when appropriate.

Every child develops at their own pace, but some children may need extra support to build these skills.

Cognitive Development

Cognitive development is how your child learns, thinks, solves problems, remembers information, and explores the world around them.

During the evaluation, professionals may observe how your child:

• Learns new skills.
• Pays attention.
• Solves simple problems.
• Understands cause and effect.
• Uses toys during play.
• Remembers familiar people, places, or routines.

These skills help children learn as they grow and prepare them for future learning.

Social-Emotional Development

Social-emotional development is how your child interacts with others, expresses feelings, and develops relationships.

The evaluation may look at how your child:

• Smiles, laughs, and shows emotions.
• Connects with parents, caregivers, and other familiar people.
• Plays and interacts with others.
• Responds to comfort and reassurance.
• Begins to understand and manage emotions.

These skills help children build relationships, communicate with others, and feel confident in new situations.

Adaptive Development

Adaptive development includes the everyday self-help skills children learn as they grow. These are the skills children use during daily routines at home and in the community.

Examples include:

• Eating and drinking.
• Sleeping.
• Dressing.
• Toileting.
• Helping with simple daily routines.
• Becoming more independent as they grow.

Children develop these skills at different rates, and some may benefit from extra support.

Looking at the Whole Child

Every child develops differently, and no two children learn in exactly the same way. During the multidisciplinary evaluation, professionals look at all five developmental areas together to get a complete picture of your child's strengths and needs. This information helps determine whether your child is eligible for the Early Intervention Program and guides the development of an Individualized Family Service Plan (IFSP) if your child qualifies for services.

For more information about child development and the New York State Early Intervention Program, visit the NYS Department of Health's Bureau of Early Intervention's website