Just like with K-12 students, schools have a child find obligation to find and assess preschoolers with disabilities.

There are a few key differences in the assessment process. The first is that preschoolers can qualify for special education under the developmental delay category. Developmental delay is a broad category for any children, ages 3 to 9, experiencing developmental delays (communication, motor, cognitive, etc). The reason why it exists is because it is hard to assess little children. A lot of the tests that we use to understand learning disabilities or check for academic progress don’t work when students are that young. We often don’t know why a young child is struggling– but we often know that they are. The developmental delay category exists to ensure that those children get services right away, not just once we can get a finer grained sense of what is going on. In 2024, 46% of all 3 to 5 year olds were served under developmental delay (OSERS, 2024).

The second is that, unless there is a clear medical issue, many children are served under Speech and Language Impairment. Again, it is hard to assess little ones. Oftentimes the most obvious thing is that the child is having trouble communicating. So the child gets their IEP because of their communication issues. In 2024, 33% of all 3 to 5 year olds with IEPs were served under a speech and language impairment (OSERS, 2024).

15% of 3 to 5 year olds are served under Autism (OSERS, 2024). 6.1% of that age group are served under all other disability categories combined.

So the big thing about identifying disabilities in preschool is that schools aren’t looking for learning disabilities or ADHD. It’s too hard to identify those that young. They are generally looking at developmental delay, communication impairments, or Autism.

As a result, almost all assessments at this age group are team assessments with a speech and language pathologist and, often, other related service providers.

IDEA definition of developmental delay in 34 C.F.R. § 300.8(b):

(b) Children aged three through nine experiencing developmental delays. Child with a disability for children aged three through nine (or any subset of that age range, including ages three through five), may, subject to the conditions described in §300.111(b), include a child—

(1) Who is experiencing developmental delays, as defined by the State and as measured by appropriate diagnostic instruments and procedures, in one or more of the following areas: Physical development, cognitive development, communication development, social or emotional development, or adaptive development; and

(2) Who, by reason thereof, needs special education and related services.

Preschoolers are served in many, many different environments.

Option 1: Student attends a regular preschool. That might be a HeadStart program, district PreK, or private preschool. 59% of preschoolers with disabilities attend a regular preschool (OSERS, 2024).

However, not all preschoolers get their special education services at their preschool. 37% of preschoolers get their special education services pushed into their regular, general education preschool classroom. That might mean a paraprofessional at the school every day or an occupational therapist coming in once a week to provide a consult and student supports.  Another 13% go to a regular preschool but go somewhere else for their services. So they might go to preschool and then drive from there to the local elementary school to work with the speech therapist. 

Option 2: The preschooler goes to a special education only preschool. 28% of preschoolers go to a special education only preschool. These are typically at elementary schools but the classrooms are heavily staffed and serve only the 3 to 5 year olds. 

Option 3: The student is served at home, in a residential facility, or doesn’t go to preschool and just goes to a service provider for supports. This is about 13ish% of students.

What services look like for preschoolers depends a lot on where they are served and what their needs are.

If the student is getting services at a district school in a preK or HeadStart class, services often look a lot like what Kindergarten students get. That might mean a paraprofessional pushing into their classroom, a special educator pulling the student out, weekly speech groups, or consults from an occupational therapist.

If the student is at a special education only program, it is often because the student has higher amounts of need. The services there tend to be more intensive with more direct instruction and more related service supports.

If the student is at a community preschool (like a private one), services often are more consultation. A special education teacher might go to the school one day a week and provide direct instruction or just work with the main preschool teacher on figuring out ways to modify classroom activities for the student with disabilities. It is hard for service providers to make it out to each of these sites and so these services tend to be concentrated in or two sessions a week rather than the shorter, daily sessions that might occur at a school based site.