It is important to not only be able to accurately identify developmental disabilities in children as well as find appropriate and effective means of teaching these children on a level that they can understand. There are websites available, such as the CDC's website available, that help identify symptoms of special needs such as ADHD. The child's doctor would be the most accurate way to have a child tested for developmental delays and other special needs. By identifying the needs early on, it can better prepare you for the future and give you a better understanding of what is to come.
There are so many different assessments when it comes to testing for disabilities. The reason being is because there is no 100% method on testing for a disability because every child experiences disabilities different. Aside from this, there are also many different sub-types of disabilities so to speak. For example, with ADHD "there are three different types of ADHD, depending on which types of symptoms are strongest in the individual: Predominately Inattentive Presentation, Predominately Hyperactive-Impulsive Presentation, and Combined presentation which shows symptoms of both of the first two types (Attention-deficit hyperactivity, 2014). The difference between the first two would be with the first one you cannot maintain focus for long periods of time whereas with the second one, you cannot sit still for long periods of time. The fact that there are so many different reasons that you can be diagnosed with a developmental disorder as well as so many different forms of the developmental disorders, this makes it a real problem to be able to identify them even when it comes to testing them. Just because a child may show some symptoms does not necessarily mean that they have a disorder. The benefit of having so many testing methods though would be that it helps to identify the disorder early on and steps can be taken to prepare the affected whether it be developing learning plans or just how you interact with them.