You do not need to wait and see.
Talk with your child's pediatrician whenever you are concerned about how she plays, learns, speaks, behaves, hears, sees, or moves. Developmental monitoring is something you do continuously; formal screening uses validated tools your clinician has. The two are not the same, and you can ask for the second at any time.
That is not a platitude — it is the practical reason to raise a concern rather than sit with it. You see your child across hundreds of ordinary moments, in many moods and settings, which is more data than any 20-minute appointment can produce. If something feels off, that observation is itself clinically meaningful information. The cost of asking and being reassured is one conversation. The cost of not asking can be a waiting list measured in months.
How to raise a concern well.
Concerns get acted on when they are specific and observable. These three steps turn a worry into an actionable request.
Note what you see, when it happens, how often, and what she can do in different settings. A short video may help if it is safe and appropriate to take one. "She does not respond to her name" is harder to act on than "I said her name from behind five times today with no response, but she turns to the doorbell every time."
Say the sentence: “I am concerned about my child's development and I would like screening.” Share your notes and any family history of speech, learning, or developmental differences. Ask which screening tool they use and what the result was. If you are told to wait, ask what you should watch for and when to come back — and put that date in your calendar.
Follow the referrals, even if you are not sure they are warranted — an evaluation is not a diagnosis, and it rules things in or out. In the U.S. you can contact early intervention directly for a child under 3, without a referral. From age 3, services can begin through the local public school system. Getting on a list early costs nothing and buys back months.
Any loss of a skill she previously had — words, gestures, movement, or social connection. Persistent differences using one side of the body. Feeding or swallowing difficulty. Or any concern about hearing, vision, movement, language, or connection.
General developmental screening is recommended at 9, 18, and 30 months; autism screening at 18 and 24 months — and at any age when a parent or a clinician has a concern. You can request any of these off-schedule.
Late is common and usually fine — the range of normal is wide, especially for walking and talking. Lost is the pattern that warrants prompt attention rather than watchful waiting. Say the word "lost" when you call. It changes how the request is triaged.
You do not need a doctor's referral.
In the United States, families can self-refer for a free developmental evaluation. This is the single most underused shortcut in early childhood.
Under age 3 — early intervention
Every U.S. state runs a federally funded early intervention program under the IDEA Part C program. You can call your state's program yourself and request an evaluation — no referral needed, and no cost to the family.
- Search your state's name plus “early intervention” to find the intake number.
- Say: “I would like to request a developmental evaluation for my child.”
- Ask about the timeline — the law sets deadlines, and you can ask what yours is.
Age 3 and up — the public school system
From a child's third birthday, the responsibility shifts to the local public school district, which must evaluate children with suspected disabilities free of charge — including children who are not enrolled and not yet in kindergarten.
- Call the district's special education office and ask for a child find or preschool evaluation.
- Ask for the request in writing so the clock starts.
- You can request a school evaluation and a pediatric evaluation at the same time.
If you are dismissed
Being told to wait is common and it is not the end of the process. Waitlists and "he will grow out of it" are the two most frequent reasons a real delay is caught late.
- Ask for the concern and the advice to be recorded in the chart.
- Get a second opinion, or go straight to early intervention yourself.
- Keep a dated log of what you raised and when you raised it.
Bringing up a bilingual concern
A bilingual child's skills are split across languages, and a test of English alone will under-count them. Ask for an evaluation that considers every language she hears, with a bilingual speech-language pathologist if one is available.
More on this on the language page.
What to do while you wait.
Waiting for an appointment is not a reason to pause. These help regardless of what the evaluation eventually says — and they cost nothing.
Talk and read more, not less
More serve-and-return interaction is the intervention with the best evidence and the fewest side effects. Narrate the day, read the same book twelve times, wait for her response.
Get hearing checked
Hearing is the most common quietly-missed cause of a speech delay, and it is easy to rule out. If she has had repeated ear infections or does not always respond to her name, ask for a hearing test early.
Protect sleep and floor play
Enough sleep and daily free movement on the floor are the two things parents can change that reliably improve attention, mood, and readiness to learn.
Keep a short log
Three lines a week is enough. It turns "I feel like something is off" into a pattern you can hand to a clinician — and it shows whether things are improving, holding, or slipping.