City of Chattanooga

Head Start and Early Head Start

Disability Services

With the consent of and in collaboration with parents, we screen each child in speech and language and other aspects of development. These screenings indicate areas that might be of concern by measuring a child’s interaction with the tool and placing the results in the context of commonly accepted developmental milestones for children of that age. Should the screenings indicate an area of concern, our Disabilities Specialists will lead our families to the support and intervention services they may need. Children with disabilities, regardless of severity, are welcomed in all Head Start/Early Head Start classrooms.

Language Screening Tools:

The Preschool Language Scales–Fifth Edition: While this screening tool is designed for children ages birth to six years and eleven months, we use it only for children ages three to five years.  It is used to screen language, articulation, feeding, connected speech, social/interpersonal communication, stuttering, and voice domains.  It generally takes anywhere from 5 to 10 minutes to administer.  Currently, we use this screening in both English and, when appropriate, Spanish. 

Brigance Early Childhood Screen III: This screening tool is designed for children ages birth to 5 years. The Brigance screens physical development, language development, and academic skills/cognitive development (literacy and mathematics).  These Core Assessments have been nationally standardized and produce scores that are highly reliable, valid, and accurate.  To ensure the accuracy of the screening for dual language learners, we provide this screening in the languages of the child.