Do you have concerns about your child's development? If your child is between the ages of three and five years old and resides in the Vestavia Hills City School District, you may request for your child to be evaluated for special education. Please use this link to complete the evaluation request form. 

 

If your child is not yet three years of age, please contact Early Intervention for your evaluation request. 

 

For more information about special education, please click this link to view the Special Education Rights. 

If you have any questions please contact Rebekah Rodgers, School Psychometrist, at 205-402-5321 or rodgersr@vhcs.us.

 

For more information on a typical three to five year old child's development, please view this developmental checklist below:

 

Blows nose when reminded
Puts on some clothing (e.g., jacket, shoes) by self
Unbuttons large buttons
Uses toilet independently during daytime
Pours liquid from small pitcher with supervision
Spreads with a butter knife with supervision
Can recite familiar safety rules

 

Can follow familiar daily routines at home and school with adult assistance
Can name a friend
Initiates or tries to join in play with other children
Shares toys and takes turns, with assistance
Begins to negotiate solutions to conflicts or might accept compromise offered by an adult
Is able to wait briefly without becoming upset, with assistance
Expresses emotions through words in addition to actions and body language
Begins to manage intensity of emotions by asking for help or using self-soothing strategies (e.g., deep breaths to calm down, hugging a comfort object) with assistance

 

Follows simple instructions even when objects are not present (e.g., “Go to the kitchen and get your shoes”)
Can follow commands with modifiers (e.g., “Walk slowly to the car”)
Demonstrates understanding of four different prepositions (e.g., “up,” “in,” “on,” “under”)
Says what action is happening in a picture (e.g., jumping, drinking, playing).
Can relate events and experiences (e.g., “I went swimming with Grandpa”)
Uses sentences of three to four words
Sings a song or says a poem from memory (e.g., “Itsy Bitsy Spider,” “Wheels on the Bus”)
Can say first and last name when asked
Names an object within a category (e.g., “Tell me a kind of fruit,” “Name different kinds of animals”)
Speech is understood by familiar adults and peers
Answers simple “who,” “what,” “where,” and “how” questions
Asks “who,” “what,” “where,” and “why” questions
Retells a familiar story in own words with some prompting (e.g., “What happens next?”)

 

Catches a big ball with arms extended
Pushes, pulls, steers wagon or wheeled toys

Walks up and down stairs with alternating feet
Jumps off a low step
Climbs ladder and uses slide
Pedals a tricycle
Forms simple shapes out of playdough (e.g., balls, snakes)
Holds a crayon between thumb and fingers
Begins to show a preference for being right-handed or left-handed
Builds three-dimensional structures with blocks
Snips with scissors

Copies a circle and plus sign when caregiver shows how to draw them
Begins to draw recognizable forms (e.g., person drawn with circle for head and two vertical lines for legs)
Attempts to write by making squiggles, letter-like forms, and/or letters in their name

Identifies some colors
Identifies basic shapes (circle, square, triangle)
Sorts objects into categories using one feature (e.g., all cars together)
Counts aloud up to 10
Counts up to 5 objects one by one
Recognizes familiar driving routes and locations (e.g., says, “That’s where Grandma lives!” when approaching her house)

Better able to ignore distractions and focus on the task at hand, persists in completing something that is a bit difficult
Experiments with different objects during play to compare their effects (e.g., cars on ramps to see which goes faster)
Repeats actions to improve results (e.g., blowing bubbles or pumping legs on swing)

Turns pages of a book one at a time
Sustains attention to an age appropriate book when read aloud

Points to items in a book

Names or points to some letters and numbers

 

If you have any questions please contact Rebekah Rodgers, School Psychometrist, at 205-402-5321 or rodgersr@vhcs.us. Thank you!