Key points
CDC's Learn the Signs. Act Early. FREE resources help home visitors engage families in monitoring children’s developmental milestones from 2 months to 5 years of age.
CDC's Learn the Signs. Act Early. resources help you:
- Meet home visiting performance indicators because they
- Complement and support developmental screening
- Enhance individualized developmental support
- Help with making referrals
- Help families better understand their child's development
- Communicate with families about their child's progress
- Guide families when there is a concern about their child's development
1 in 6 children has a developmental delay or disability. You can help identify children with signs of developmental delay, strengthen family engagement, and better support children by:
- Supplementing your curriculum with CDC's Learn the Signs. Act Early. family education and engagement resources
- Enhance developmental screening by using milestone checklists or the Milestone Moments booklet to track each child's development between screenings.
- Help families understand age-appropriate milestones by showing pictures and videos from Milestones in Action.
- Share children's books Amazing Me and Where is Bear? to help families learn about developmental milestones while reading with their child.
- Increase your knowledge of signs of potential delay and what to do if there is a concern.
- Encouraging families to use CDC's Milestone Tracker app and review the My Child's Summary page with you to facilitate communication about developmental progress.
- Helping families take action on developmental concerns by sharing CDC's How to Get Help for Your Child tip sheet.
It's Working in Home Visiting!
South Carolina
Help Me Grow South Carolina and Maternal, Infant, and Early Childhood Home Visiting (MIECHV) programs have developed a model to successfully integrate Learn the Signs. Act Early. resources. The model includes:
- An engaging training on developmental milestones for families.
- Discussions with families at each visit about their child's development, using materials like CDC's Milestone Moments booklet.
- A process to refer children to appropriate providers for further evaluation if parental concerns arise during visits.
"My clients enjoy looking for their babies' milestones. They use the booklet to "glimpse into the future" of what their babies will be doing next! It allows them to prepare for what is to come even after they have graduated from our program."
- Nurse Home Visitor, South Carolina
Resources for Home Visiting
Print or view a handout (PDF) of this information
Click to print or view the Home Visiting Quick Guide in English and Spanish.
