Tennessee believes all children deserve a healthy beginning in life, with proper immunizations, screenings and healthcare.
Who is eligible?
Every child under age 21 who is eligible for TennCare is eligible for TennCare Kids services. A child can be eligible for TennCare through Medicaid or through the uninsured or uninsurable guidelines. TennCare Kids screenings are well-child checkups. Children and adolescents should receive regular screenings even if there is no apparent health problem.
When should my child get a checkup and screening?
• 15 months
• 18 months
• 24 months (2 years old)
• 30 months
• 36 months (3 years old)
• Every year after that (until age 21)
Screenings are the first step in identifying children who need more in-depth testing and diagnosis. Screenings help identify problems in a general area (such as behavioral or developmental), while diagnosis should identify or rule out specific problems (such as ADHD or intellectual disability).
What will the doctor look for?
Screening visits consist of:
• Comprehensive health and developmental history
• Unclothed physical exam
• Vision and hearing screenings
• Appropriate immunizations
• Laboratory tests
• Health education
The purpose of these visits is to identify physical, mental or developmental problems and risks as early as possible and to help children get the needed diagnosis and treatment.
If your doctor has concerns, he or she will suggest specific tests. This is the best way to detect problems early.
• All infants and young children should be tested for developmental delays.
• School-aged children and adolescents should receive additional evaluation for emotional/behavioral problems.
• Your doctor should also screen for autism or related disorders. Early detection and early intervention can improve long-term outcomes in this group of disorders.
Which screenings will my child be given?
General Development (including language, social, motor, cognitive, self-help)
• Age range: Birth–9 years
• Generally, developmental screenings are recommended for older children (age 6 and older) only if your doctor suspects that a developmental problem has not been previously detected and/or diagnosed.
Autism and Pervasive Development Disorders (PDD)
• Age range: 12–36
months
• Child should be screened once during the 12-to-36-month age interval.
Behavioral/Emotional
• Age range: 4–20 years
Hearing:
• At every scheduled checkup
Vision:
Up to age 6:
• Visual acuity, if not done at 3
years.
• Ocular alignment, beginning at
age 2. Children should have this screening done one time by age 6 if not performed at a prior age interval.
After age 6:
• Eye exam.
• Visual acuity, if not done at 3
years.
Learn more about screenings.