Is Your Grandchild Developing On Time?

This article is a guest post written specifically for NanaHood by Patricia Wright, Ph.D MPH Easter Seals, National Director of Autism Services.

If you have ever wondered about those important milestones in your child’s life or your grandchild’s, please read this article and share the information with others!

Every grandparent knows how important the first five years of a child’s life are. These years are an intensive developmental period where children reach thinking, social and language milestones, such as speaking, communicating, socializing and problem solving. But would you know if your grandchild missed one of these important developmental milestones? Easter Seals, one of the nation’s largest nonprofit providers of early intervention services, is now offering parents a way to monitor their child’s development through a FREE online screening tool.

Thanks to support from the CVS Caremark Charitable Trust, Easter Seals is providing free access to the Ages & Stages Questionaires® (ASQ) to parents at www.MakeTheFirstFiveCount.org. Produced by Brookes Publishing, the ASQ is an easy-to-use online tool that includes questions about a child’s communication, gross motor, fine motor, problem solving and personal social skills. Widely used by pediatricians and heath care experts, the ASQ is recognized as the industry standard for developmental screenings for kids under age five. All parents are urged to take the 15 minute screening– whether they suspect their child has a developmental delay or not.

Grandparents are often caregivers to their grandchildren, so it’s important to make sure your grandchild is reaching developmental milestones. While every child develops at his or her own pace; early identification and treatment are keys to a bright future for every child.

Help make the first five years count for your grandchildren. To learn more about Easter Seals and the FREE online screening tool check out www.MakeTheFirstFiveCount.org .