Free Developmental Screenings for the Children in Your Care
No cost to your daycare. No cost to your families.
A registered clinician reviews every screener and writes a personalized report for each family.
You don’t have to do the heavy lifting. Pick the option that works for your facility — we’ll take it from there.
Why Daycares Partner With Us
We’ve served hundreds of children in daycares across Edmonton, St. Albert, and rural Alberta. Here’s why directors keep saying yes.
For the children
Early identification means earlier support during the most critical years of brain development. Small concerns caught early stay small. Some never become problems at all.
For the parents
Clinical expertise families would otherwise pay for — at no cost, with no waitlist. A registered clinician reviews every screener and sends a written report directly to each parent.
For your business
Strengthens parent trust, differentiates your facility, and demonstrates real commitment to child development. The kind of partnership families want to see in the daycares they choose.
Our team includes registered Speech-Language Pathologists, Occupational Therapists, Counsellors, Behaviour Consultants, Dietitians, and Psychologists — every clinician registered with their respective Alberta college.
What Families Are Saying
Two Ways to Bring This to Your Families
Pick whichever fits your facility. We can do either — or both.
Option 1 — We come to you
A registered clinician visits during your regular hours, screens children on-site (about 10–15 minutes per child), and we email each family a personalized written report.
Availability: in-person visits run regularly in St. Albert and Edmonton. We may be able to travel to rural communities depending on clinician availability — please coordinate with our team.
Best when: you have a quiet corner and parents have signed consent forms.
Option 2 — We come to them, digitally
Send your families a single link. Each parent fills out a 12–15 minute questionnaire from their phone. A clinician reviews their answers and emails them a personalized report.
Availability: available anywhere in Alberta — especially helpful for daycares outside the St. Albert and Edmonton area, or for gauging interest before booking a visit.
Best when: you’d rather not host a visit, or want to gauge interest first.
Outside the St. Albert and Edmonton area? Most rural daycares we work with start with Option 2 to gauge interest. If parents engage, we’ll talk about a visit. Either way, give us a call and we’ll help you figure out what fits — no minimums, no pressure.
Ready to Move Forward? Here’s What Happens Next
Pick the option you’d like to use. We’ve kept the work on our side as much as possible — your part is mostly forwarding an email and letting us know you’re in.
Option 1 — Steps to Book an In-Person Visit
+- Reach out by phone or email. Tell us a bit about your facility. We’ll go over our daycare partnership agreement together on a quick call. No paperwork on your end.
- We send you a confirmation email. Once we’ve agreed verbally, we follow up with a confirmation email containing the visit date, a written summary of what you’ve agreed to, and both Option 1 and Option 2 parent email templates side-by-side — so you see exactly what we’re preparing for your families. The Option 1 version is the one ready to forward.
- Forward the parent email template to your families. The email contains a direct link to our parent consent Google Form. Each interested parent completes the consent form themselves — no paperwork chasing for you.
- On the visit day. Our registered clinician arrives during your regular hours. You provide a quiet corner. Each consenting child is screened for about 10–15 minutes — during nap, free play, or whenever fits your schedule.
- Each family receives a personalized written report by email from a registered clinician. Your job is done.
Option 2 — Steps to Share the Self-Serve Link
+- Reach out by phone or email. Let us know you’d like to send the link to your families. We’ll set a date together by which you’ll have shared it — this lets us reserve clinician time to review submissions and prepare reports.
- We send you a confirmation email. It contains the screener URL and both Option 1 and Option 2 parent email templates side-by-side — so you see exactly what we’re preparing for your families. The Option 2 version is the one ready to forward. Want to preview the screener itself? View it at [PARENT-SCREENER-PAGE-URL].
- Forward the parent email template to your families. Each parent picks their child’s age and completes the screener (about 12–15 minutes) from their phone or computer at their own pace.
- A registered clinician reviews every submission as they arrive.
- Each family receives a personalized written report by email directly from a registered clinician.
If a parent isn’t comfortable with online forms, you (the daycare) can submit on their behalf. Just send us their information and the answers they shared with you — we’ll be in touch with the parent directly from there.
Honest Answers to the Questions We Hear Most
We’ve called a lot of daycares. Here’s what usually comes up — and what’s actually true. Click each one to expand.
“We don’t have time.”
+10 minutes per child during nap or free play. We bring everything we need. No paperwork or prep for your staff.
“We don’t have a private space.”
+A quiet corner is enough. We work with whatever space you have.
“Let me ask the parents first.”
+That’s literally Option 2 — send them the digital link. No commitment from you, and you’ll see how many are interested before you decide on a visit.
“What if no parents sign up?”
+Then we don’t come. There’s no cost, no pressure, and no minimum.
“Is this a sales pitch in disguise?”
+No. The report tells parents whether their child looks on-track or whether a closer look might help. If we recommend further evaluation, parents are free to choose any provider.
“Who actually does the screening?”
+A registered Speech-Language Pathologist (SLP) or Occupational Therapist (OT) on our team. Every clinician is registered with their respective Alberta college.
“Can we do this more than once a year?”
+Yes. We can come back twice a year if there’s enough demand in your area. Many daycares run it once in the fall and once in the spring as part of their regular calendar.
Things to Watch For — That Daycare Staff Aren’t Trained to Catch
Daycare educators are wonderful at watching children grow — but you’re not clinicians, and you don’t need to be. These are the kinds of things our screening picks up that often go unnoticed in a busy classroom. Click each domain to see specific signs.
Speech & Language
+- Late talker — toddler not yet using words, or using fewer words than expected for their age
- Speech delay — speech that’s noticeably behind same-age peers
- Stuttering — repeating sounds, syllables, or words; getting “stuck” when speaking
- Unclear speech — child is hard for unfamiliar adults to understand past age 3
- Trouble following directions — even simple ones, in a one-on-one setting
- Social communication concerns — difficulty with turn-taking, joint attention, or peer conversation
Occupational Therapy & Sensory
+- Sensory sensitivities — child very upset by ordinary sounds, textures, or messy play
- Sensory seeking — constantly crashing, spinning, mouthing non-food objects, or unable to sit still
- Fine motor delays — struggle with crayons, scissors, buttons, dressing
- Gross motor concerns — falls often, awkward gait, can’t hop or balance like peers
- Feeding issues — gagging, pocketing food, very limited diet, mealtime meltdowns
- Postural and regulation difficulties — can’t sit upright at the table, slumps, easily dysregulated
Counselling & Mental Health
+- Anxiety — persistent worry, separation distress, refusal to participate
- Persistent low mood — child seems sad, withdrawn, or flat over weeks, not just a bad day
- Behavioural concerns — aggression, defiance, or shutdown beyond what’s typical for the age
- Social difficulties — struggles to make or keep friends, conflict avoidance
- Big emotional reactions — meltdowns out of proportion, very long to recover
Autism
+- Limited eye contact or social engagement
- Communication differences — echoing scripts, very literal language, late or limited speech
- Repetitive behaviours — lining up objects, hand-flapping, rocking, spinning
- Restricted interests — intense focus on a narrow topic that dominates play
- Combined sensory + behavioural patterns — meltdowns at routine changes, strong reactions to sensory input
Psycho-Educational & Learning
+- Attention concerns — can’t sustain focus on tasks, easily distracted, frequently “not listening”
- Learning differences — struggle with pre-literacy or pre-numeracy despite consistent exposure
- Processing or memory difficulties — needs many repetitions, forgets routines, can’t hold instructions
- Executive function challenges — trouble starting tasks, switching activities, or self-organizing
Our screening picks these up — and the report tells the parent whether a closer look is warranted. Across all of these, the screening covers two big areas, plus a personalized report at the end.
Communication
Speech sounds, language understanding, vocabulary, sentence-building, social communication, and pre-literacy skills — age-appropriate for each child.
Movement & Senses
Fine motor (drawing, scissors, dressing), gross motor (running, balance, hopping), sensory comfort, and feeding patterns.
The Report
A personalized written summary from a registered clinician — what’s on track, what to watch, and clear recommendations for next steps if anything stands out.
Ready to Talk?
Call or email us — we’ll find a time that works for your facility. There’s no obligation either way.
Ruby Therapy · St. Albert, Alberta · rubytherapy.ca