SAN DIEGO -- The tasks 3-year-old Mina Seif performs at the Children's Hospital Solana Beach Satellite seems like a game. She plays with a doll; she reads a story; she pulls a toy train on a string, all while following instructions from Kati Enright.

PROJECT QKIDS Learn More About Project QKids 10News Project QKids Story Archive

Enright is a developmental screener. She keeps a close eye on how well Mina jumps and plays, so she can chart how well the girl is growing.

"We check to make sure everything is coming along at age appropriate milestones," Enright said.

Her tests determine how well Mina uses her small and large muscles and joints, how well she understands instructions, how well she can speak, what she knows, and how much she can do on her own.

Enright's tests offer just a basic assessment of Mina's abilities.

"I don't determine big global concerns," Enright said. "All I really do is take a real quick look at what's going on and if I have any concerns, I send them on to a specialist."

After working with Mina for half an hour, Enright meets with her mother, Mary Seif. "The only thing I had a little concern about is she's having a little trouble with some of the articulation with some of the sounds," Enright explained.

"Like if you notice when she would say 'kitty' she used some inappropriate sounds," Enright said.

Seif isn't surprised by Enright's assessment. "My husband and I know she has trouble with "C" -- the sound of C and D and L," Seif said. They thought Mina might outgrow the problem.

Instead of waiting, Seif will put Mina in a speech class that's also offered by Children's Hospital. Children with more serious developmental problems could be sent to a specialist for additional testing.

No matter how it's handled, Enright says it's important to address problems like this before children enter kindergarten.

"If we can find out the areas where a kid might need a little bit of help in, then we can start to strengthen that area for them," Enright said.

"(We can) give them a lot of support (and) enhance that development, so that by the time they go to school you know they're that much more ready for school," Enright said.

The free assessment is offered by Children's Hospital to families in the North County. The funding was provided by The First 5 Commission of San Diego, which uses tobacco tax money to improve the lives of children under the age of five.

For more information, call (877) 8C3-KIDS or visit HowKidsDevelop.com.