Information for Healthcare Providers

This site has information for health care providers, including information on screening tools and free educational materials to give to patients. “Learn the Signs. Act Early.” materials are not a substitute for standardized, validated developmental screening tools.

What is “Learn the Signs. Act Early.” and how can it help me?

The Health Care Provider Primer is a one page resource sheet that explains the benefits of using LTSAE materials in pediatric settings. It also offers information on how to access materials and easily integrate them within practices. Primer in English [PDF – 2M] | Primer in Spanish [PDF – 2M]

Scripted, Narrated Presentation

View this brief presentation to learn about the FREE tools offered by “Learn the Signs. Act Early.” and how you can share them with the parents of the young children in your care: [Click to open the presentation]

Milestone Checklists

Milestone Checklists
You can print out milestone checklists for parents to complete. You can give this to a parent before their child’s next well-child exam visit; they can bring it back filled out to use as a discussion guide for reviewing their child’s development.

Developmental Screening

Birth to 5: Watch Me Thrive!
Birth to 5: Watch Me Thrive! is a coordinated federal effort to encourage healthy child

Developmental Screening
Information on developmental screening especially for health care providers from CDC. Includes facts, how to incorporate screening into your practice, research, interventions, and more.

Developmental Screening Tools
A list of developmental screening tools, both general and specific to ASD. Find descriptions of the tools, including sensitivity and specificity.

M-CHAT (Modified Checklist for Autism in Toddlers)
Download the M-CHAT, instructions and permissions for use, scoring instructions, and follow-up interview. The follow-up interview is designed to reduce the false positive rate (meaning children who fail the M-CHAT but are not likely to have ASD).

Identification and Evaluation of Children With Autism Spectrum Disorder
Detailed information on signs and symptoms so pediatricians can recognize and assess ASD in their patients from American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP).

Guidelines and Recommendations
Find guidelines and recommendations related to developmental screening, developmental delays, and autism.

Developmental Screening/Testing Coding
This fact sheet for primary care pediatricians provides guidance on how to appropriately report limited and extended developmental screening and testing services from American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP).

Autism

Autism Information
Information from CDC on autism, including information on research being conducted by CDC, other federal agencies, and states, in addition to resources and activities for children to help them learn about autism.

Share the Campaign with Colleagues

Healthcare providers are important motivators of health behavior change according to our research. Not only can you help families learn about developmental milestones and act early if there’s a problem, but you can influence the community at large.

• Interested in sharing information on the “Learn the Signs. Act Early.” campaign with your colleagues? You can order a free set of flyers to distribute by clicking here
• The campaign has developed a brief PowerPoint presentation for sharing at professional meetings or societies. This presentation includes speaker ’s notes and is designed to give an overview of the campaign and provide information on obtaining the free resources. Click here to download the presentation (3.88Mb zip file).
• Link Your website to Ours — and Encourage Others to Do So as Well!
  The best way to help people in your community learn more about your organization and the campaign is to link the two together – literally – on the website. We have developed a button that provides an icon, Web address, and description to help you put a link on your site. Click here for everything you need!