I'm worried about my child's development

As parents it’s a given that we will worry about how our child is developing at some point. In fact, there’s a term for the specific anxiety parents feel when watching their child meet, or not meet, developmental milestones. Baby Development Anxiety is a real thing and is a real concern especially in the digital age full of social media posts about how Lucy’s baby is a GENIUS AND KNOWS 15 WORDS ALREADY AND SAID SHE WANTS TO BE PRESIDENT ONE DAY AND ISN’T SHE SO PERFECT?!?! That being said, there may come a time when you decide that you are worried about your child’s development and are unsure what to do about it. The first thing you should do is pat yourself on the back. You have identified a problem and are taking the first step in seeking out a solution. Your child may not thank you for it but I will. Thank you for being an advocate for your little one!

The first thing you should do is make an appointment with your pediatrician to talk about your concerns. Let’s say they just had their 18-month appointment and you didn’t talk to them about your concerns. That’s ok! Make another appointment, don’t wait until their 24-month appointment. Time is money here and we will go over why in a bit. If you are unsure about what to say or how to express your concerns here’s a handy guide.

Your pediatrician may not always agree with your concerns but that doesn’t mean your concerns are not valid. Don’t be afraid to ask for a referral for an outside assessment. You may be referred to a developmental pediatrician, a pediatrician with specialized training in child development and children with special needs, or a child neurologist, or a child psychologist/psychiatrist. Any one of these options is a valid option and no one is better than the other when it comes to early detection of a developmental disability.

At this point, your concerns will either be validated, or abated. In that, a specialist will either say yes, we agree that your child isn’t developing typically, or no, they’re good, keep up with what you’re doing, and they will also tell you they want to be president one day, but in their own time. In my experience, it is at this point where many parents feel lost and unsure what the next step is. Following a diagnosis parents are usually told to put their child in to ABA therapy, but what exactly does that mean? How do we get our kid into therapy? Isn’t that expensive? How will we afford it, who will pay for it? Have no fear! I’m here to help.

While I live and practice in California, laws and services that are available vary by state, so please take a look at this helpful post about laws and guidelines by state. The following information will be based on what’s available in California, your options may be slightly different but shouldn’t vary too much from what we have here.

Your next step should be to contact your local regional center. This is one of the best resources you can get as a parent, they will help to answer any questions you have, determine eligibility, explain what services are available to you, and how they can help you to secure services. If your child is under the age of 3 they will coordinate and provide early-start services, all provided at little to no cost to you, funded by the state.

Why type of therapy should your child be receiving? There are so many kinds of therapy out there, all at different costs, and many with different teaching styles. The many treatments listed on autismspeaks.com are Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA), Early Start Denver Model (ESDM), Floortime, Occupational Therapy (OT), Pivotal Response Treatment (PRT), Relationship Development Intervention (RDI), Speech Therapy, TEACCH, and Verbal Behavior. My advice would be to first seek out qualified professionals who practice in the field of Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA). Why? Because it is the only treatment for autism spectrum disorder that is scientifically proven to be effective (it works, and we have the research to back it up). Clinicians who provide ABA therapy have gone through a rigorous training with educational training (over and above a master’s degree), experience hours, and an examination to become board certified. All ABA programs are overseen by a Board-Certified Behavior Analyst (BCBA). Therapists working directly with children are most often Registered Behavior Technicians (RBT’s) which means they too have received training on the best methods for delivering therapy, passed an exam, and are closely supervised by a BCBA. Here’s the best part about ABA: 46 states (plus the District of Columbia) have mandated that it be a covered benefit with your health insurance. Check your state here.

Many parents who are in the process of enrolling their children in an ABA program are shocked at the amount of hours the clinician will recommend for their child. For the under-3 crowd it is best practice for the BCBA to request between 20-40 hours per week of therapy. This is a ton of time and it’s precious time. Before the age of 3, the brain is growing at such an amazing speed and this is our time to teach and create the framework for the ability to learn as the child grows. Don’t be afraid of the hours, be prepared to make a worthwhile investment into your child’s future. With many things we do for our children, we put in the work now so we won’t have to later. What does that mean? Consider the concept of toilet training. It’s a ton of work, a ton of mess, and a huge headache. But isn’t it so great when the work is done, the skill is learned, and you no longer have to change diapers? The same concept applies here. Be prepared to work, hard, and learn, a lot, and you and your child will be the better for it in the end. This is why I stated earlier that time is money. Don’t wait to get your child assessed, the more time they have in therapy before they turn 3, the better their outcome.

 I said it before, and I’ll say it again. By making it to the end of this post you have taken a huge step in the right direction in being an advocate for your child. If you are still questioning yourself or your child has recently received a diagnosis, don’t be afraid to reach out to me, I’m here for you and can help guide you through this process as well!