Identifying children with DN

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1. Identifying children with DN

1.1 Identification process

1.1.1 Levels involved: This may apply to selected or all class levels.

Your centre may wish to start the identification process from Nursery (Term 4) onwards, similar to the arrangement for centres offering Development Support and Learning Support (DS-LS) programme.
This will provide sufficient runway for the child to receive support and enhance school readiness.
If your centre is ready, the process can be further extended to Pre-Nursery and Playgroup levels so that children who may require EI support are already identified in the early years.

1.1.2 Timeframe: This may be at fixed timepoints and/or ongoing basis throughout the year.

Your centre may wish to start with fixed timepoints every 6 months to identify children with DN. This can be aligned to the timepoints at which parents are updated of their child’s learning and development (e.g., Parent-Teacher meetings).
Depending on the programmes offered in your centre, there may be additional timepoints for identification (e.g., screening period for DS-LS).
If your centre is ready, the timeframe can be extended throughout the year so that EC educators can identify children with DN as and when the needs are surfaced for immediate follow up. This will allow children to receive EI support in a timely manner.

1.2 Screening tools

1.2.1 Screening tools for EC educators: This may include the Child Development Screening (CDS) checklist, Ecological Congruence Assessment (ECA), and Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ).

To get started, it will be helpful to get a preliminary sense of the child’s needs through the use of screening tools.

Your centre may wish to start with fixed timepoints every 6 months to identify children with DN. This can be aligned to the timepoints at which parents are updated of their child’s learning and development (e.g., Parent-Teacher meetings).
Depending on the programmes offered in your centre, there may be additional timepoints for identification (e.g., screening period for DS-LS).
If your centre is ready, the timeframe can be extended throughout the year so that EC educators can identify children with DN as and when the needs are surfaced for immediate follow up. This will allow children to receive EI support in a timely manner.

Child Development Screening (CDS) Checklist

The CDS Checklist, which can be accessed through the Health Booklet or HealthHub application, outlines developmental milestones for children at various ages across 4 categories: Personal-Social, Fine Motor-Adaptive, Language, and Gross Motor.

This is useful reference for both centre and parents to assess children’s development. Do work with your centre leader to encourage parents to use this.
Your centre may also wish to incorporate CDS red flags in regular child monitoring forms and process.

Apart from the CDS, you may also wish to apply the ECA and SDQ screening tools which are covered during the ICO pre-appointment training and used to identify children for the DS-LS programme.

EC educators will be trained in the ECA and SDQ screening tools during the DS-LS briefing. As an ICO, you can extend further support and guide EC educators in their use of these tools to observe and identify children with potential DN.

Ecological Congruence Assessment (ECA) form

The ECA form is a basic screening tool used to record children’s skills and learning profile and needs. You may refer to the Learner’s Guide to find out more about the ECA form.

With the ECA, a child will be observed across 6 different settings (e.g., during class activity, reading time or when child is in a large group) and the observer (i.e., EC educator, ICO) would use the ECA form to record inputs, identify functional goals, recognise contextual relevance, gather information for making decisions on intervention practices for identified child and promote collaboration between specialists and EC educators.

Did you know? Information in the ECA can also be useful:

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Do EC educators need to complete all the 6 types of activities in the ECA?

Completing all 6 types of activities in the ECA will provide a more holistic perspective of the child’s skills in engaging in the various routines and activities in the classroom and noting the areas for improvements when EC educators can observe the child in as many different types of activities as possible in the classroom.

Should the EC educators complete the ECA for all students or only for students with potential DN?

It depends on the purpose of the ECA used in the centre level processes. If the ECA is used as a document for behaviour observation for each student’s portfolio, it can be conducted for each child. This document can be used as information for support in EI programmes, e.g., DS-LS.

Strength and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ)

The SDQ is a behavioural screening tool for children aged 2-17 years old. You may refer to the Learner’s Guide to find out more about the SDQ form.

The SDQ is used to understand a child’s emotional and behavioural concerns in a classroom setting. It is typically used by the EC educator who spends the most amount of time with the child.

1.2.2 Further assessment: Screening results may indicate that child requires further assessment and a formal review by trained professionals to determine areas of need comprehensively. Screening should not replace formal assessment for the child.

Further assessment may involve the use of additional assessment tools and the need for parental consent. As an ICO, you can work with the EC educator to inform the parent, seek consent and ensure necessary documents are ready for the child to proceed with further assessment.

Section 2.1 on parent engagement will be useful reference on how to share with parents the results from child’s screening and advise on next steps.

For younger children (i.e. Playgroup, Pre-Nursery, and Term 1 – 3 of Nursery year) who require further assessment, you and the EC educator should discuss with centre leader (and other trained professionals in your organisation if available) on the next steps for the child. This can include recommending child to visit polyclinic for referrals to KKH Department of Child Development (DCD)/NUH Child Development Unit (CDU).
For older children (i.e. Term 4 of Nursery year, Kindergarten 1, Kindergarten 2), further assessment will be conducted by in-house or external Learning Support Educator (LSEd). The LSEd will follow up to seek inputs and recommendation from a panel of trained professionals.

If your centre does not have in-house LSEd, do consider establishing a partnership with your regional Therapy Teams to extend the DS-LS programme to your centre. See Domain 1 for details on regional Therapy Teams.