Developmental screening reminders for practices

Pediatric and family medicine practices screen young children for developmental delays and autism at well-child visits. Developmental and behavioral pediatricians, therapy practices and early intervention programs see the children who are referred. Outreach that brings families in for the right visits and explains what a screening result means is useful work. It also touches a sensitive subject for parents, and it is easy to get wrong: to suggest that an online quiz can diagnose autism, that a screening is a diagnosis, or that a service will cure a condition. This guide covers what the professional and federal sources say, how to word reminders and pages, and where the claims stop.

Related topics have their own guides and are not repeated here. Well-child visit reminders in general are covered in our guide to well-child visit outreach, pediatric practice marketing in our guide to pediatric practice marketing, evaluation practices in our guide to ADHD and autism evaluation marketing, and therapy practices in our guide to ABA therapy marketing.

This is general information, not legal, billing or medical advice. Sources cited were checked on October 30, 2026: the AAP clinical report Promoting Optimal Development (Pediatrics, January 2020), the AAP clinical report Identification, Evaluation, and Management of Children With Autism Spectrum Disorder (Pediatrics, January 2020), the AAP Bright Futures Recommendations for Preventive Pediatric Health Care (approved December 2024, published February 2025), the USPSTF recommendation Autism Spectrum Disorder in Young Children: Screening (February 16, 2016; the USPSTF page shows an update in progress), the CDC Learn the Signs. Act Early. pages (read through archived copies), 34 CFR 303.21, 303.303 and 303.310, section 1905(r) of the Social Security Act, 42 U.S.C. 300gg-13, 47 CFR 64.1200, 16 CFR 255.2 and 15 U.S.C. 45. Early intervention programs, Medicaid schedules and plan coverage differ by state and plan; check yours.

What the AAP schedule says

The American Academy of Pediatrics clinical report Promoting Optimal Development: Identifying Infants and Young Children With Developmental Disorders Through Developmental Surveillance and Screening was published in Pediatrics in January 2020. It supports developmental surveillance at every health supervision visit and standardized developmental screening tests at the 9, 18 and 30 month visits. A concern raised by surveillance at any visit should be followed by standardized screening or direct referral to intervention and specialty care. It also calls for special attention to surveillance at the 4 to 5 year visit, before a child starts elementary school.

A second AAP clinical report from the same month, Identification, Evaluation, and Management of Children With Autism Spectrum Disorder, says standardized screening for autism at 18 and 24 months, with ongoing developmental surveillance, continues to be recommended in primary care. The Bright Futures periodicity schedule, approved in December 2024 and published in February 2025, puts both into the visit schedule, with footnotes pointing to these two reports. We could not find newer AAP reports replacing them on October 30, 2026.

Build reminders around the 9, 18, 24 and 30 month visits, since those are the visits where the AAP schedule places a standardized screen.
Name the source and its date in your internal notes, and recheck the Bright Futures schedule when the AAP publishes a new one.
Explain the difference in plain words: surveillance is the clinician watching development at every visit; screening is a standardized questionnaire or test at set ages.
Do not name a screening tool or questionnaire in marketing. The clinician picks the tool.
Say what a screening does: “A screening helps us see if your child should have a closer look.” Do not call it a test that finds or rules out autism.

What the USPSTF says, and why it differs

The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force published its recommendation on autism screening in young children on February 16, 2016. For children aged 18 to 30 months whose parents or clinicians have raised no concerns, it concluded that the current evidence is insufficient to assess the balance of benefits and harms of screening, an I statement. It found adequate evidence that available screening tests can detect autism in children of this age, but inadequate direct evidence on the benefits of screening children for whom no concerns had been raised. The USPSTF page shows an update in progress for this topic on October 30, 2026.

An I statement is not a recommendation against screening. The Task Force page itself notes that the AAP recommends autism screening for all children at 18 and 24 months. A practice that follows the AAP schedule can say so; it should not say the USPSTF recommends autism screening, and it should not say the federal government requires it.

Use: “We follow the American Academy of Pediatrics schedule, which recommends autism screening at 18 and 24 month visits.”
Avoid: “The government recommends autism screening for every toddler” or “Required autism test.”
Date both sources on the page and link them, since the USPSTF update may change the wording.

CDC Learn the Signs. Act Early.

The CDC program Learn the Signs. Act Early. offers free milestone checklists for ages 2 months through 5 years and a Milestone Tracker app. CDC says its checklists include milestones that 75 out of 100 children or more are expected to reach by a given age, so that families do not wait and see; any missed milestone or concern should prompt a conversation with the child’s doctor. CDC also says its resources are not a substitute for standardized, validated developmental screening tools.

That makes the CDC materials a good thing to point families to, and a poor thing to present as a diagnosis. A practice page can link the CDC checklists, invite parents to bring a completed checklist to the visit, and explain that the clinician will decide whether a screening or referral is needed.

Link the CDC pages rather than copying the checklists into your site, and date the link.
Use: “Bring your child’s milestone checklist to the visit and we will talk about it.”
Do not host a quiz that returns a result such as “likely autistic” or “no concerns.” A questionnaire on a marketing page is not a validated screening in a clinical setting.
Do not collect checklist answers on a public web form. Ask parents to bring them or use the patient portal.

Early intervention referrals under IDEA Part C

Part C of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act funds state early intervention programs for infants and toddlers under 3. Under 34 CFR 303.21, an infant or toddler with a disability includes a child under 3 who needs early intervention because of a developmental delay in cognitive, physical, communication, social or emotional, or adaptive development, or because of a diagnosed condition with a high probability of resulting in delay. Under 34 CFR 303.303, each state’s child find system must include referral procedures for primary referral sources, which include physicians, hospitals, other clinics and health care providers, and parents. A child must be referred as soon as possible, and in no case more than seven days after the child has been identified.

After a referral, 34 CFR 303.310 says the screening (if the state uses one and the parent consents), the initial evaluation and assessments, and the initial service planning meeting must be completed within 45 days from the date the program receives the referral, with exceptions for documented family circumstances or a parent who has not given consent. CDC tells families they can call their state early intervention program to ask for a free evaluation without waiting for a doctor’s referral or a diagnosis, and that children 3 or older are evaluated through the public school system.

Put the state early intervention contact on your developmental screening page, and tell parents they can call it themselves.
Write your internal referral steps so the seven day timeline is met once a clinician identifies a child, and record when the referral was sent.
Use: “If your child may qualify for early intervention, we will help you connect with the state program.” Do not promise a child will qualify.
Ask your privacy officer how parent consent and record sharing work in your state before you send records to the program.

Coverage: say less than you think you know

Under 42 U.S.C. 300gg-13, group health plans and health insurers offering group or individual coverage must cover, with no cost sharing, the preventive care and screenings for infants, children and adolescents in the comprehensive guidelines supported by the Health Resources and Services Administration. For children enrolled in Medicaid, section 1905(r) of the Social Security Act defines early and periodic screening, diagnostic and treatment services, and its screening services include a comprehensive health and developmental history, including assessment of both physical and mental health development. The state sets the schedule and the process.

Use: “Developmental screening is part of your child’s well visit. Call your plan or ask our front desk about your coverage.” Avoid: “Free autism testing.”
Keep screening and diagnosis apart. A full diagnostic evaluation or therapy is a different service with different coverage.
Do not quote a CPT code, payment amount or copay on a public page. Coding questions belong with your billing team and the payer.

Claims to leave out

The AAP autism report describes an increasing evidence base for behavioral and other interventions that address specific skills and symptoms, and it calls for shared decision making with families in choosing them. That is far from a promise. Outreach that says “early screening cures autism,” “reverse delays” or “catch it before it is too late” frightens parents and claims what no source above supports.

Avoid: “cure,” “recover,” “reverse,” “prevent autism,” “diagnose autism online” or any outcome promise.
Avoid fear-based copy about lost windows or deadlines. Use the plain CDC framing: if you have a concern, talk to your child’s doctor and act early.
Use person-first or identity-first language as your clinicians and the families you serve prefer, and keep it consistent.
Do not use one family’s story to imply results. Under 16 CFR 255.2(b), a consumer endorsement is likely read as what people will generally achieve, and claims must be truthful and substantiated under 15 U.S.C. 45.
Do not post photos or videos of children without written parent permission, and never in ads.

Reminder messages for parents

Screening reminders go to parents, so they should be short and plain. Keep words such as autism, delay or concern out of the text and the lock screen preview, and discuss results in the visit, the portal or a phone call. These samples use placeholders; replace them with your own details.

Well visit reminder: “[Practice name]: [Child name] is due for a well visit, which includes a development check. Call [phone] or book in the portal. Reply STOP to opt out.”
Questionnaire before the visit: “[Practice name]: Please complete [Child name]’s questionnaire in the portal before the visit on [date]. Reply STOP to opt out.”
Follow-up: “[Practice name]: Please call [phone] about next steps from [Child name]’s visit with [clinician name]. Reply STOP to opt out.”

Under 47 CFR 64.1200(a)(9)(iv), calls and texts to wireless numbers made by or on behalf of healthcare providers are exempt from prior express consent only when all of its conditions are met. They go only to the wireless number the patient provided, state the provider’s name and contact details, and are strictly limited to listed purposes, which include appointment and exam confirmations and reminders and wellness checkups. They contain no telemarketing, solicitation or advertising and no billing or other financial content, comply with HIPAA privacy rules, stay concise (generally 160 characters or fewer for a text), are limited to one message a day and three a week, and offer an easy opt out. A message that promotes a therapy program, a class or a paid evaluation is marketing, so get consent first and ask your attorney.

Pages, forms and ads

A public page can explain when screening happens, what a result means and how early intervention works. It should not collect a child’s answers or results.
Do not run third party ad or analytics tags on pages where parents book a developmental visit or enter health details.
Do not build ad audiences or retargeting lists from visitors to an autism or developmental screening page.
Keep conditions out of URLs and page titles, such as a page named “autism-results.”
Use search ads for clear intent such as “pediatrician developmental screening” with honest copy, and send the click to a page that matches the ad.

Illustration: two developmental screening pages

This is an invented example to show the difference, not a real practice. Page A says “Is your toddler autistic? Take our 2 minute quiz and get answers today,” returns a result on screen, stores the answers with an ad pixel running, and promises early therapy can reverse delays. Page B says “We follow the AAP schedule: developmental screening at 9, 18 and 30 months and autism screening at 18 and 24 months,” links the CDC milestone checklists, explains that a screening is not a diagnosis, lists the state early intervention contact, and books through the portal. Page A offers a diagnosis and an outcome it cannot back up. Page B matches the sources and what the practice does.

Checklist before a developmental screening campaign goes live

AAP ages (developmental screening at 9, 18 and 30 months, autism screening at 18 and 24 months) are dated and cited.
USPSTF wording names the 2016 date and the I statement, and does not describe it as a recommendation for or against.
CDC checklists are linked as a family tool, not presented as a screening or diagnosis.
No online quiz returns a diagnosis or likelihood, and no form collects a child’s answers outside the portal.
The state early intervention contact is on the page, and the internal referral steps meet the seven day timeline.
No cure, recovery, reversal or prevention claims, and no fear-based deadlines.
Coverage wording sends parents to their plan or state Medicaid program; no promise of free testing.
No ad or analytics tags on booking or health detail pages, and no retargeting lists from these pages.
Texts meet the healthcare message conditions in 47 CFR 64.1200(a)(9)(iv) and keep the subject off the preview.
A clinician and a health care attorney approved the page and the messages.

How we help

We build websites, local search, Google Ads, patient lead generation and AI front desk tools for independent practices and health businesses, including pediatric, family medicine and developmental practices. For developmental screening outreach, that means a site that explains screening, results and early intervention in plain words with dated sources, no quizzes that pose as a diagnosis, booking kept free of ad tags, and well visit reminders that stay within the federal text rules. Our tools are built with HIPAA in mind. We confirm in writing what a BAA covers before any patient information flows through a tool, and if it is not covered, we do not route patient information through it.

At what ages does the AAP recommend developmental and autism screening?

The AAP clinical reports published in Pediatrics in January 2020 support standardized developmental screening at the 9, 18 and 30 month visits and autism screening at 18 and 24 months, with developmental surveillance at every well visit. The Bright Futures schedule published in February 2025 includes both.

Does the USPSTF recommend autism screening?

No. In February 2016 the USPSTF found the evidence insufficient to assess the balance of benefits and harms of autism screening in children aged 18 to 30 months with no concerns raised, an I statement. That is not a recommendation against screening. The USPSTF page shows an update in progress.

What is the difference between developmental surveillance and screening?

Surveillance is the ongoing watch a clinician keeps on a child’s development at every visit, including the parent’s concerns. Screening is a standardized, validated questionnaire or test given at set ages, or whenever surveillance raises a concern.

Can our website offer an online autism screening quiz?

We advise against a quiz that returns a result. CDC says its own milestone checklists are not a substitute for standardized, validated screening tools. Link the CDC checklists and ask parents to bring them to the visit instead.

How fast must a practice refer a child to early intervention?

Under 34 CFR 303.303, state referral procedures must provide for referring a child under 3 as soon as possible, and in no case more than seven days after the child has been identified. Parents can also contact the state program themselves.

Can we text parents about developmental screening?

Yes, within limits. The healthcare exemption in 47 CFR 64.1200(a)(9)(iv) covers listed purposes such as appointment reminders and wellness checkups, with no marketing or billing content. Keep the subject off the preview, and get consent first for messages that promote a program.

Developmental and autism screening outreach: AAP schedule, USPSTF, CDC milestones, early intervention referrals and parent messages