When observations suggest a child may need extra support, a preschool team should gather more careful evidence over a few weeks, discuss it together, talk openly with the family, adjust support in the classroom, and, with the family's agreement, seek advice from a qualified professional such as a paediatrician or developmental specialist. Teachers notice and describe; they do not diagnose. Throughout, the child continues to belong fully to the class, and the record describes what she does rather than attaching a label.
Teachers are often the first adults outside the family to notice that a child may be developing differently. That is a responsibility to take seriously, because early support can make a real difference, and also one to handle carefully, because a premature or clumsy conversation can frighten a family and stick a label on a child who was simply developing at her own pace. This article sets out a calm, step-by-step approach that early-years teams can follow, from the first observation to working with specialists.
Noticing without jumping to conclusions
Young children develop at very different rates, and a single observation rarely means much. A three-year-old who does not answer at circle time may be tired, shy, still learning the language or simply interested in something else. What turns a passing observation into a concern is a pattern: the same difficulty seen in several settings, over several weeks, by more than one adult, and not explained by ordinary factors such as language learning or a recent change at home.
Milestone guides can help teachers decide when a pattern is worth discussing. In 2022 the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the American Academy of Pediatrics revised the milestones in their Learn the Signs. Act Early. programme so that each one describes something most children, about three in four or more, can do by a given age. The change was made so that a missed milestone becomes a clearer signal to talk to a professional rather than to wait. The guides are freely available and are useful background for teachers, provided they are used to prompt conversations and not to diagnose.
Some signs justify a conversation sooner, whatever the child's age or languages: a child losing skills she previously had, very limited understanding or communication through any means, little interest in other people, or concerns the family raises themselves. Families' worries deserve particular weight, because parents often notice things early.
A step-by-step approach
The following sequence reflects common practice in early-years settings. Steps can overlap, and a team can move faster when a concern is serious, but skipping steps usually causes problems later.
- Gather focused evidence. For two to four weeks, both teachers observe the child more closely in different settings, writing factual notes and, where useful, using event sampling to understand when a difficulty appears.
- Discuss as a team. Teachers bring their notes to a planning meeting, with the curriculum lead or head of school where possible. Is there a consistent pattern? Could language learning, a change at home or the classroom environment explain it?
- Adjust support in the classroom. Before or alongside talking with specialists, the team tries reasonable changes: simpler instructions with gestures, a quieter space, more one-to-one time, visual routines. How the child responds is itself useful evidence.
- Talk with the family. In a private, unhurried conversation, teachers share what they have observed, ask what the family sees at home and listen. They agree together on what to do next.
- Seek professional advice, with consent. If the concern remains, the team suggests that the family consult a paediatrician or developmental specialist, and offers to share observation notes with the family's permission.
- Work together on a plan. If a specialist recommends support, the school, the family and the professionals agree on how the child will be supported in class and how progress will be reviewed.
At every step the child remains a full member of her class. Support should be woven into ordinary classroom life as far as possible, not delivered by taking the child away from her friends unless there is a good reason.
Screening, assessment and diagnosis are different things
Families and teachers often use these words loosely, but the differences matter. Screening is a quick check, often using a standard questionnaire, to see whether a child should be looked at more closely. The Ages and Stages Questionnaires, developed in the United States and used in many countries, are a well-known example; parents complete them with help from professionals. A screening result never diagnoses anything. It answers only one question: is further assessment a good idea?
Assessment, in this sense, is a fuller evaluation by a trained professional, such as a developmental paediatrician, a speech and language therapist, an occupational therapist or a psychologist, using standardised tools, observation and history. Diagnosis, where one is appropriate, is made by qualified clinicians, not by schools.
Teachers contribute to all of this with their observations, which can be extremely valuable because they show how the child functions in a real group setting over time. But teachers should avoid using diagnostic words in conversations with families or in records. Writing that a child "may have autism" or "has ADHD" goes beyond what a teacher can know and can cause great distress. Describing what the child does, in what situations, is both more accurate and more useful to the professionals who will see the family.
Talking with the family
The first conversation about a concern is often the hardest part of the whole process. It should never happen in passing at the gate, or as a surprise item at a routine meeting. Teachers should ask for a private conversation at a time that suits the family, in the language the family is most comfortable with, with an interpreter if needed.
It helps to begin with the child as a person, her interests, her friendships, what she enjoys, before turning to the concern. Teachers should then describe what they have observed, using specific examples, and ask what the family sees at home. Many families have already noticed something, and some are relieved to be able to talk about it. Others are surprised or upset, and need time.
Teachers should be honest about what they do not know. A useful way of putting it is that the team has noticed some things that are worth looking at more closely, and that a specialist would be able to say more. Teachers should avoid both alarm and false reassurance. They should also make clear that the child is welcome and valued in the class, whatever comes next, and offer a follow-up conversation soon afterwards.
Families in Ho Chi Minh City may not know where to start. The school can share general information about the kinds of professionals who can help, such as the developmental or psychology clinics found in major children's hospitals and private paediatric practices, without steering families toward a particular provider.
When the answer is to watch and wait
Not every concern needs a referral straight away. When a pattern is mild, when there is a likely ordinary explanation such as a child who started learning Vietnamese or English only recently, or when the family prefers to wait, the team may agree on a period of watchful waiting. This is not the same as doing nothing.
Watchful waiting means agreeing on what the team will observe, for how long and what would trigger a further step. For example, the team may agree to observe a child's communication closely for six weeks, to add specific support in class, and to meet the family again at the end of that time. Notes are kept, and the meeting actually happens.
The risk of waiting is that it drifts into months without review, and a child who needed support misses it. Setting a date for the next conversation at the time of the decision is the simplest protection against that drift. If the family's concern grows in the meantime, the waiting period should end early.
Keeping records during the process
Good records protect both the child and the school when a concern is being explored. Notes should be dated, factual and written by the adults who saw the events. They should record what support the team has tried and how the child responded, what was discussed with the family and when, and what was agreed. A specialist who later sees the child will find this kind of record far more useful than general impressions.
Records about concerns should be kept securely and separately from the child's everyday portfolio, and shared only with staff who need them and, with the family's consent, with outside professionals. Families should be able to see what has been written about their child. Writing as though the family will read every word is a good discipline: it keeps language factual and respectful.
Once a specialist is involved, the school record should note the recommendations the family chooses to share and how the classroom is adapting. It should continue to include strengths and interests, not only the difficulty under discussion, so that the child is never reduced to a single concern.
Supporting the team as well as the child
Raising and following a concern is demanding work for teachers. They may worry about upsetting a family, about getting it wrong, or about managing a child whose needs stretch the whole class. School leaders can help by joining difficult conversations, making sure the team has time to meet, and arranging training or advice from specialists on practical classroom strategies.
Co-teachers should support each other too. In a bilingual team, the teacher who shares the family's language often carries more of the emotional weight of conversations with parents, and the workload should be shared fairly in other ways. A team that feels supported is much better placed to support the child.
Teachers also need permission to be uncertain. Not every concern turns out to be significant, and a team that raised a concern which later proved unfounded has not failed. It has done its job carefully. Leaders who make that clear encourage teachers to speak up early rather than waiting until a problem is impossible to ignore.
Inclusion and the role of the preschool
Vietnam's Law on Persons with Disabilities of 2010 and its education laws support inclusive education, in which children with disabilities and developmental differences learn alongside their peers. In practice, how well inclusion works depends heavily on the school: the size of classes, the training of teachers, the support available and the willingness to adapt routines.
A preschool cannot be everything to every child, and honesty matters here too. If a child needs specialist therapy, the school's role is to work with the therapists, adapt the classroom and keep the child connected to her friends, not to replace professional support. Within the Global Star School system, Global Star Special focuses on early intervention, and a family considering that route can discuss it with the school.
In the Global Nexus curriculum, a child who needs extra support continues to be observed across all six dimensions, with a strengths-first record, and her progress is described against her own earlier self like every other child's. She is never compared with classmates, and her support is planned so that she can take part as fully as possible in the life of the class.
Câu hỏi thường gặp
Can preschool teachers diagnose developmental conditions?
No. Teachers observe and describe what a child does, and they can suggest that a family seek professional advice. Diagnosis is made by qualified clinicians such as developmental paediatricians or psychologists after a full assessment.
How long should a team observe before raising a concern with the family?
Usually a few weeks of focused observation by more than one adult is enough to see whether a pattern is consistent. Some signs, such as loss of previously gained skills, justify talking with the family straight away.
What is the difference between screening and assessment?
Screening is a quick check, often a questionnaire, to decide whether a closer look is needed. Assessment is a fuller evaluation by a trained professional. A screening result alone never diagnoses a child.
What if the family does not want to seek specialist advice?
The decision belongs to the family. The school should respect it, continue to support the child in class, keep careful notes and agree on a date to talk again. If concerns grow, the team can raise the conversation again respectfully.
Will a child with a developmental concern be treated differently in class?
The child remains a full member of the class. Support is adjusted to help her take part, and her progress is recorded against her own earlier self, as for every child, without comparison or labels.
Does learning two languages cause developmental delays?
No. Bilingualism does not cause language disorders or developmental delays. Children learning two languages may show ordinary patterns such as mixing or a quiet period, which teachers should not mistake for a concern.