Early Childhood Special Education

Child Find is a continuous process of public awareness activities, screening, and evaluation designed to locate, identify, and refer all young children with disabilities as early as possible. It also seeks to identify their families who are in need of an Early Intervention Program (Part C) or Early Childhood Special Education (Part B) services of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA).

Complimentary Child Find Screenings are sponsored by HSSD to assess a child’s developmental progress according to their age. The developmental areas to be screened include the following skills:

• Social/Emotional - how your child interacts with others and with their surroundings
• Expressive and Receptive Language - how your child uses and understands language, and articulates sounds
• Gross Motor - how your child performs age-appropriate skills such as jumping, climbing, and accessing playground equipment
• Fine Motor - how your child manipulates toys, everyday items, and writing tools.
• Cognitive - how your child demonstrates cognitive skills such as matching, color recognition, reasoning questions, and following directions.

What is a Child Development Day/Child Find Screening?

Child Find Screenings or Child Development Days are held three times per school year, typically in October, January, and March. Parents are encouraged to make an appointment for their child’s developmental screening if they have developmental concerns.

Who should participate?

If you have questions or concerns about your child’s typical developmental milestones, Child Find Screenings are offered for all 3-year-old and 4-year-old children who:

• Reside within HSSD
• Have concerns about developmental milestones
• Have not had a previous screening

What to expect at a Child Find Screening

• Parents will complete a questionnaire based on the child’s age. 
• Children will be screened by a district professional educator using a formal screening tool.
  • The 20-30 minute screening takes place in a child-friendly environment.
• Screening results will be discussed with the parents immediately following their appointment.

Child Development Days are held three times per year in October, January, and March. Please see the HSSD Calendar for this year's dates. 

If you have concerns about your child’s development or would like more information, please call the HSSD Student Services Department at 920-662-7881 to consult with an early childhood special education staff member.

If your child has previously been screened by HSSD, but you still have concerns, please contact the HSSD Student Services Department at 920-662-7881. 

For information about development regarding children under the age of 3-years-old, please call Brown County Birth-3 Services at 920-448-7890.   

• Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Milestones
• Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Milestone Tracker App
• Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Developmental Monitoring & Screening
• Collaborating Partners
• Early Childhood Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction (DPI)
• Regional Centers for Children and Youth with Special Care Needs
• Wisconsin Regional Centers Children and Youth with Special Health Care Needs
• Wisconsin First Step Parent Hotline 
• Wisconsin Model Early Learning Standards