Screening

The Boy has his preschool screening tomorrow morning. It is required in our school district, and needs to be completed between the ages of 3.5 and 4. I’m a little nervous about the screening, however irrational that may be. I was filling out the intake paperwork the other night and it asked me to list my child’s strengths. How can I possibly do that? Picking my child’s best qualities? It seems impossible to me since he has so many, and the space on the form is very limited. I have to make T take a look tonight because perhaps he is a bit more objective than I am.

I’m not going to link to the screening information, but here is a snippet from their website:

What is Early Childhood Screening?
Screening is a free check of your child's vision, hearing, height, weight, and development, as well as a review of her or his immunization records. Children are screened by licensed teachers from the Family Center. Your child will be assessed in three important developmental areas, motor skills, concepts, and communication skills. This not an IQ test. It does not rank children according to scores. The purpose of screening is early detection of children's development, health, and other factors that may interfere with a child's learning, growth, and
development.

Following screening, a teacher will talk with you about your child's results. You'll have the opportunity to discuss any concerns you may have about your child's development or circumstances that could affect your child's learning. The teacher may refer you and your child to another agency to be rechecked or to receive services that will help your child. The screening process takes about 45 minutes.

Please note: For the most accurate results, it is best if parents are not present in the same room as the child during screening. Parents wait in a room close by. Please explain this to your child before you come to screening.

I don’t know why, but the biggest issue I have with this is the being separated from my child during the screening. I’ve written before about The Boy’s natural tendencies, and I worry just a little that he will not speak to the screener at all. Of course he will likely do much better with no parent around than he would with me hovering. I realize this is just a blip in what will be many “tests” of my children as they grow, but it makes me face the reality that he is getting older. I hate that testing has to begin so early.