Every child grows differently and there are variations of what is considered developmentally “within normal limits”. However, there are specific milestones that all children should reach by certain ages. It is important to note that this outline is based on chronological ages. If a child is premature, the information can be applied to their adjusted age. This article will briefly outline a typical child’s development from birth to three years old, across all developmental domains: cognitive, social-emotional, self help (adaptive skills), and motor development (both gross motor and fine motor).

By three months, infants are consumed by adaptive skills. At this age, babies should be able to turn their heads, move both eyes in the same direction, recognize the bottle/breast, react to sudden sounds and make cooing noises. Within this time, the infants start to grasp toys, hold fisted hands, kick arms/legs, lift their heads while on their stomachs, and smile.

At six months, once they have passed the 0 – 3 month phase, babies will start interacting more with their environment. They will follow moving objects, turn towards the source of sounds and reach for desired objects. Infants between three and six months old can play with their toes, help hold the bottle during feedings, recognize familiar faces, and even babble.

By nine months of age, babies become more physically active. They can sit without support, crawl and pull themselves to a standing position. Furthermore, babies at this age are able to drink from a cup, play interactive games (e.g. peek-a-boo), wave hi/bye, stack two blocks, and know approximately 5 words (e.g.. look at mom when someone says ‘momma’; retrieve a bottle when requested).

A one year old child has grown into pulling, pushing, and dumping things. During this time, they should be reaching milestones such as: walking, feeding themselves, and assisting in getting themselves dressed/undressed. By 12 months, children like to look at pictures, use crayons, and can follow simple directions (e.g. come here).

At two years old, toddlers are assertive. They become increasingly more verbal using two word sentences, labeling common objects, and using verbal requests (e.g. more juice). They can identify body parts, build larger block towers, turn pages in a book, and show affection. They also like to imitate the adults/peers around them. Two year-olds can be extremely determined to have things their way, thus making temper tantrums a very common occurrence.

By three years old, children are completely independent. They are able to walk up/down steps, put on their own shoes, use three-to-five word sentences, and are fully toilet trained. Three year olds can play with other children, name at least one color correctly, and ride a tricycle.Though exact times for reaching these milestones can vary slightly among children, these are good guidelines for tracking your child’s developmental progress.

Lilya Popovetsky, MA SpEd, CAS, SDA is the founder of A Multilingual Development Agency, a NYS DOH Early Intervention agency for children from birth to three years old in Nassau County, NY. She obtained a Master’s Degree from Columbia University’s Teacher’s College in Early Childhood Special Education, with a dual certification in General Education. Lilya went further on to complete two educational administration degrees from Hofstra University.

The process of receiving an Early Intervention (EI) Evaluation for children birth to three years old consists of four steps. They are as follows:

1. Refer your child.

2. Meet with your initial service coordinator (ISC).

3. Initial evaluation is conducted.

4. Individualized Family Service Plan (IFSP) meeting, if your child is found to be eligible for services. The entire evaluation process takes 30 days from receipt of the initial referral until the evaluation must be completed. The IFSP meeting, when applicable, must occur within 15 days after the evaluation. Therefore, the entire evaluation process takes a total of 45 days.

In order to refer your child for an evaluation you must contact an Early Intervention provider such as A Multilingual Development Agency, in Nassau County. Residents of other counties must contact their county’s Early Intervention Program referral line. At that time, a referral intake will be taken of the child’s background information.

After the intake is complete, your child is assigned a personal Initial Service Coordinator (ISC). Your ISC will contact you within 10 days to schedule an initial home visit at your convenience. At that time, the ISC will help you resolve any Early Intervention questions or concerns you will have. At the end of the meeting, A Multilingual Development Agency will be authorized to conduct your child’s evaluation.

Next, an evaluator from A Multilingual Development Agency will contact you to schedule a day/time to conduct the evaluation, in your home, according to the optimal time for you and your child. Depending on the needs of your child, there may be two or more evaluations conducted, within the 30 days.

If your child is found eligible to receive Early Intervention services, an Individualized Family Service Plan (IFSP) meeting will be held with the family, Initial Service Coordinator (ISC), and evaluator representative, in your home. At that time, services will be authorized for the next 6 months and developmental goals that are specifically tailored to the needs of your child will be set. The ISC will determine the frequency and duration of services. IFSP meetings are held every 6 months to monitor your child’s progress and growth.

Lilya Popovetsky, MA SpEd, CAS, SDA is the founder of A Multilingual Development Agency, a NYS DOH approved Early Intervention agency for children from birth to three years old in Nassau County, NY. She obtained a Master’s Degree from Columbia University’s Teacher’s College in Early Childhood Special Education, with a dual certification in General Education. Lilya went on to complete two educational administration degrees from Hofstra University.

A Multilingual Development Agency is a New York State approved Early Intervention (EI) agency which provides Nassau County families developmental evaluations for children from birth to three years old in the child’s home environment. A Multilingual Development Agency specializes in working with families who have adopted a child, internationally and/or domestically. In accordance with NYS law, we conduct developmental evaluations in the child’s dominant language. Some of the languages offered to families include, but are not limited to: Russian, Polish, Ukrainian, Armenian, Cantonese, Chinese, Korean and Vietnamese. All evaluations are sensitive to the cultural backgrounds of the children and take into consideration their histories. That knowledge, in conjunction with standardized assessment tools, provides the means with which to give your child the most accurate testing results possible.

Early Intervention evaluations should be conducted shortly after arrival. All testing is conducted in the child’s natural, home environment, with full parental participation. Our evaluators test children in a fun, play based manner using materials and tools that are appropriate for their ages. The parent is present throughout the entire assessment, contributing vital information to complement your child’s performance.

Evaluations will determine if there are any developmental delays in your child’s growth. All evaluations are conducted by NY State licensed and certified professionals who are Department of Health approved service providers. The evaluations assess all areas of development including: cognitive, adaptive, social-emotional, physical and communicative. If there are additional concerns, families are entitled to supplemental evaluations that may address nutritional needs, audiological concerns, and/or family education.

If developmental delays are found, all children are entitled to receive Early Intervention services conducted at their homes. Some of the services your child may receive include but are not limited to: speech/language therapy, special instruction, physical therapy, occupational therapy, sensory integration, nutritional consults, feeding therapy, and family counseling.

A Multilingual Development Agency is a multidisciplinary agency that works closely with your child’s pediatrician, Nassau County service coordinator, and most importantly family members to meet all the developmental needs of your child.

Lilya Popovetsky, MA SpEd, CAS, SDA is the founder of A Multilingual Development Agency, an Early Intervention agency for children from birth to three years old in Nassau County, NY. She obtained a Master’s Degree from Columbia University’s Teacher’s College in Early Childhood Special Education, with a dual certification in General Education. Lilya went on to complete two educational administration degrees from Hofstra University.

Early Intervention for children ages birth to three years old offers families developmental evaluations, and therapeutic services to children who are found to be eligible. Developmental evaluations assess all areas of development: cognitive, social-emotional, physical development, and self-help/adaptive skills. Each area of development is unique and plays a major role in the child’s functional abilities. All Early Intervention evaluations employ age appropriate standardized testing, materials/toys, and clinical opinion to determine a child’s age equivalent.

The cognitive domain, as assessed by a special educator, includes learning, remembering, thinking, perceiving, feeling emotions, and further experiencing their environment. This also includes the development of a child’s understanding of language. A child’s cognitive skills are reflected by the ways in which s/he plays and solves problems. The cognitive domain is assessed by a special education evaluator.

The social-emotional component refers to a child’s ability to interact and relate to other people including, parents, friends, and other family members. The evaluation of the social-emotional domain is a fundamental necessity that becomes particularly important when working with children who have been adopted. Social-emotional assessment is conducted through the observation and analysis of the child’s interaction with his or her family, caregivers, and the evaluators. A special education evaluator evaluates the social-emotional development.

Physical development allows children to manipulate their way around, giving them the opportunity to explore the world around them; this includes movement and posture, as well as muscle tone and strength. The development of motor skills is the foundation of physical development. These skills can be categorized as either gross or fine. Gross motor skills refer to those tasks that require use of the large muscles, e.g. crawling, walking and jumping and are evaluated by a physical therapist. Fine motor skills are tasks such as making a fist, or using building blocks, that require the use of smaller muscles. Each area of development requires its own evaluation. Gross motor skills are assessed by a physical therapist and fine motor skills by an occupational therapist.

The adaptive domain refers to self-help skills that we use for functional daily living such as, eating, drinking and getting dressed. These skills can vary drastically based on differences of cultural background and past experiences. For some children, this area of development could be the most vital as it could be the most delayed. Both an occupational therapist and special education evaluator include the adaptive domain in their evaluations.

Lastly, communication skills, which are evaluated by a speech-language pathologist measures how the child communicates his or her wants/needs. The communication domain is classified by receptive language skills, which is what the child understands, and expressive language skills, which is what the child says (including non-verbal communication). At times, there can be a great disparity between these two areas. It is crucial to note that a language delay in a child who is adopted is due to a delay in the child’s native tongue and not because s/he knows little to no English. A Multilingual Development Agency conducts evaluations, in accordance to New York State Department of Health guidelines in your child’s dominant language. Some of the languages we offer include, but are not limited to: Russian, Polish, Ukrainian, Armenian, Cantonese, Chinese, Korean and Vietnamese.

Lilya Popovetsky, MA SpEd, CAS, SDA is the founder of A Multilingual Development Agency, an Early Intervention agency for children from birth to three years old in Nassau County, NY. She obtained a Master’s Degree from Columbia University’s Teacher’s College in Early Childhood Special Education, with a dual certification in General Education. Lilya went on to complete two educational administration degrees from Hofstra University.

• Encourage your baby to make vowel-like and consonant-vowel sounds such as “ma,” “da,” and “ba.”
• Reinforce attempts by maintaining eye contact, responding with speech, and imitating vocalizations using different patterns and emphasis.
• Imitate your baby’s laughter and facial expressions.
• Teach your baby to imitate your actions, including clapping you hands, throwing kisses, and playing finger games such as pat-a-cake, peek-a-boo, and the itsy-bitsy-spider.
• Talk as you bathe, feed, and dress your baby. Talk about what you are doing, where you are going, what you will do when you arrive, and who and what you will see.
• Identify colors.
• Count items.
• Use gestures such as waving goodbye to help convey meaning.
• Introduce animal sounds to associate a sound with meaning: “The doggie says woof-woof.”
• Acknowledge the attempt to communicate.
• Expand on single words your baby uses: “Here is Mama. Mama loves you. Where is baby? Here is baby.”
• Read to you child. Sometimes “reading” is simply describing the pictures in a book without following the written words. Choose books that are sturdy and have large colorful pictures Ask your child, “What’s this?” and encourage naming and pointing to familiar objects.

Lilya Popovetsky, MA SpEd, CAS, SDA is the founder of A Multilingual Development Agency, an Early Intervention agency for children from birth to three years old in Nassau County, NY. She obtained a Master’s Degree from Columbia University’s Teacher’s College in Early Childhood Special Education, with a dual certification in General Education. Lilya went on to complete two educational administration degrees from Hofstra University.

• Use good speech that is clear and simple for your child to model.
• Repeat what your child says indicating that you understand. Build and expand on what was said. “Want juice? I have juice. I have apple juice. Do you want apple juice?”
• Use baby talk only if needed to convey the message and when accompanied by the adult word. “It is time for din-din. We will have dinner now.”
• Make a scrapbook of favorite or familiar things by cutting out pictures. Group them into categories, such as things to ride on, things to eat, things for dessert, fruits, things to play.
• Help your child understand and ask questions. Play the yes-no game. Ask questions such as “Are you a boy?” “Are you Marty?” “Can a pig fly?” Encourage your child to make up questions and try to fool you.
• Ask questions that require a choice. “Do you want an apple or an orange?” “Do you want to wear your red or blue shirt?”
• Expand vocabulary. Name body parts, and identify what you do with them. “This is my nose. I can smell flowers, brownies, popcorn, and soap.”
• Sing simple songs and recite nursery rhymes to show the rhythm and pattern of speech.
• Place familiar objects in a container. Have your child remove the object and tell you what it is called and how to use it. “This is my ball. I bounce it. I play with it.”
• Use photographs of familiar people and places, and retell what happened or make up a new story.

Lilya Popovetsky, MA SpEd, CAS, SDA is the founder of A Multilingual Development Agency, an Early Intervention agency for children from birth to three years old in Nassau County, NY. She obtained a Master’s Degree from Columbia University’s Teacher’s College in Early Childhood Special Education, with a dual certification in General Education. Lilya went on to complete two educational administration degrees from Hofstra University.