Limited access to special education services for school-aged children with developmental delay.

•281 children initially diagnosed with developmental delay (DD) had a gap in service access due to change in diagnosis after the age of 5.•Children who were initially diagnosed with DD and experienced a gap in service access were more likely to enroll in special education in 3rd grade.•Children who experienced a gap in service access had an adjusted probability of 59.0% enrollment in special education in the 3rd grade.