~Any child birth to three with a suspected developmental delay may be referred for a free assessment regardless of diagnosis, family income or insurance status.

Denver Options provides services to people of all ages. We provide resources to infants and toddlers who have a delay in development and to children and adults with intellectual disabilities. We are dedicated to valuing choices and offering services that meet the unique needs of every individual.

Our Service Coordinators offer specialized support to help people live active and purposeful lives.

Our customers live in our community as family members, neighbors, co-workers and friends. Some of our customers live independently; others live with family members and still others receive 24-hour care. We listen to customers and family members to identify the right combination of services and resources to help people reach their goals and dreams.

Visit www.DenverOptions.org for more information. There is also information on the Autism Waiver.

   No one knows your child as well as you do, not even the pediatrician or school teacher.  A way to help your pediatrician to better understand your child’s development is “Ages & Stages” (ASQ) questionnaire, recommended by the group ABCD. The questionaire which is filled out by the parent and reviewed by the pediatrician or family doctor asks questions about the child’s communication, gross and fine motor skills, problem solving  etc…
   The Assuring Better Child Health & development project (ABCD) is funded by the Colorado Health Foundation and the Kaiser Community Benefit Fund and supports implementing standardized, developmental screenings for kids up to age five. National Statistics show that pediatricians are only detecting 30% of children with possible developmental delays, but when they use the standardized development screening tool like ASQ the rate increases to 80%. Scores signal parents and pediatricians to the need for Early Intervention Colorado, (WWW.earlyinterventioncolorado.org), which provides support and services for further assessment. The ASQ is NOT a diagnosis of a problem but and indicator for further evaluation.
   Currently all Kaiser and Denver Health sites use the ASQ but ABCDs goal is to have 90% of physicians using the tool by 2010 with each well child check.

For more information contact Bennet at Eileen@acecc.org or go to www.ColoradoABCD.org.