If you think your child has a developmental delay or any disability, look into getting an assessment done by the public school district you reside in. If your kid qualifies, you will get free preschool and services if your town has a public preschool.

In Massachusetts in order to qualify for special education you have to have a diagnosed disability. There are several different disability categories. For something like Autism that would come from a doctor. But things like a developmental delay or specific learning issues would usually come from an evaluation that is done by the school district.

If you think your child has a disability you need to contact the special education office in your district and request an evaluation.

Inform the your city/town school department that you suspect your child has special needs. The school has their own educational psychologists that will perform testing to identify the disability and the school will develop a plan to address your child's learning needs. In MA special education is taken seriously and a wide variety of services are available. Massachusetts has excellent school systems, so your child will have a great chance of success!

No. You need to write to the school special education department and say that you suspect your child has a disability or developmental delay. At that point, the school is obligated to evaluate the child for special education services. They will send you a consent form for evaluation which you will then sign and send back. They will evaluate your child to determine if he qualifies for an IEP and then hold an IEP meeting where they will share the results of their evaluations and discuss his eligibility for services.

You can get evaluated for an IEP by the school system. Call them up as soon as they open next week to get the process started. Depending on where you are, it may take awhile.