ALERT™
Pediatric red flags
- AAsymmetry
- LLoss of skills
- EExtreme or limited movement patterns
- RReduced engagement
- TTrust caregiver concern
What it solves
ALERT gives you the five cross-age signals that should sharpen your attention during any pediatric evaluation, the red flags that separate normal variation from something to escalate.
When to use it
Run ALERT on every evaluation, regardless of the child's age or the referring concern. It is the standing screen behind the Playbook's red flags reference.
In practice
These five signals are not things to monitor, they are things to escalate. Persistent asymmetry, regression in skills the child already had, exclusively extension-based or otherwise extreme patterns, poor engagement from pain, fatigue, sensory dysregulation, or fear, and a caregiver who keeps raising the same concern all warrant a closer look and, often, a referral.
ALERT™ is one of 14 frameworks in the Playbook
Read the full treatment in Chapter 1 of the Pediatric PT Playbook (Developmental Principles Across Childhood), with the cases, scripts, and documentation to match.
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