“Can we (and should we) diagnose very young children? Are we racing to conclusions?”
Disorders
of learning, behavior, and social functioning are often subjective and
therefore can be difficult to strictly define and reliably diagnose. In the
Kindergarten to 12th grade system, States use classification systems
with labels, such as Speech Impaired, Learning Disabled, Autistic, Mentally
Retarded, etc. But that’s 
Kindergarten through 12th grade.
What about before that? In the field of early childhood assessment, there is
general consensus that between Birth and age 5, it is quite difficult (and
perhaps impossible) to accurately “classify”, “label”, or “diagnose” a very
young child who presents with a developmental delay. Therefore, in the Birth
to 5 age bracket, States have largely moved to “non-categorical” systems where
a child is simply deemed “eligible” or “not eligible” based on functioning in
several developmental areas (e.g., Language, Motor, Cognitive, Adaptive,
Social).
Will a 2½ year-old boy with a language delay go on to fully catch-up by age 3½, or will he go on to have language, reading, and processing difficulties? We don’t know. Will a “hyperactive” 3-year-old girl go on to “settle down” by kindergarten, or will she demonstrate Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder into adulthood? We don’t know. One thing we know for sure, though, is that the “F.E.A.T.S.™ Techniques” in chapters 4 through 9 can be used to promote positive development for all children, including those with typical development and those with developmental delays or disorders.