I recently had a parent in desperation ask me what she should do. She had taken her daughter to the doctor several times. She knew in her heart that her daughter who was born at 32 weeks and was not developing as her peers at 3 had some sort of a disability, probably Autism, yet her doctor told the mother to wait a little longer to let her daughter catch up.
This is not an unusual scenario. It is played out many times daily in Pediatricians offices across the country. Since this child was born prematurely, in many states she would have automatically received early intervention at birth. I will explain early intervention in a minute. As a Child Development Specialist with a Masters Degree and over 17 years experience working in Early Intervention and Preschool with children with Special needs and their families. I gave her the following advice; First, parents know their children better than anyone else. If you suspect something is wrong, there usually is. Second, your child needs to be assessed. Find out who in your state’s State Interagency Coordinating Council (SICC). In California our SICC is the Regional Center. Call your local Elementary school and ask them if they know who your state’s SICC is. If they don’t know, have them refer you to the District’s Special Education Department, they will know.
Once you have found the SICC, you will want to tell them what you have seen, and then ask for an assessment of your child. The earlier you get this done, the better. The assessment by the SICC will be free, but you may wait up to 4 months to get it done. You can also have an assessment done by a Developmental Pediatrician, Occupational Therapist, Child Development Specialist or Child Psychologist. In California, the preferred assessment by our SICC is the Bayley III. You will have to pay for this.
So, what is Early Intervention you ask. The definition from the Early Intervention Dictionary is: “Specialized services provided to infants and toddlers who are at-risk for or are showing signs of developmental delay. Services emphasize the continued development of basic skills through planned interaction that will minimize the effects of the baby’s condition. Several types of qualified professionals may plan and implement early intervention services, provided in conformity with an individualized family service plan. These professionals include case managers, infant educators (who use developmental play activities to promote the infant’s acquisition of basic skills), physical or occupational therapists, speech and language therapists, audiologists, social workers, or individuals who rare trained to help infants and young children with acquiring new skills and behaviors, or to provide other services such as family training, screening, assessment, or health care. Early intervention services are provided under public supervision and at no cost (except where federal or state law provides for a system of payment by families.”
Early intervention was established in 1986 as part IDEA (Individuals with Disabilities Education Act) and established the Part C (Early Intervention) program. It was reauthorized in 2004 when President Bush signed legislation reauthorizing IDEA. The current IDEA 2004 Statute (P.L. 108-446) for Part C .
Part of Idea is Child Find. In the scenario above, the doctor should have referred mother and baby at birth to the state’s SICC because the baby was premature and at risk for a disability. If the state’s law’s didn’t include at risk children, at the very least, he should have been watching for signs that the baby wasn’t keeping up developmentally. The problem here is that Pediatrician’s are not educated in what developmental milestones are for children. They know what correct height and weight is, but now how many words a child should have at 9 months or when they should turn over or reach for things. That is a Child Development Specialists role. So many, many children fall through the cracks until they enter Kindergarten. Fortunately the CDC, Center for Disease Control has stepped in with a program to educate Doctors and the public with their “Learn Signs, Act Early” Campaign. . On their website, you can view or download the various materials for the “Learn the Signs. Act Early.” Campaign designed for parents and health care professionals to learn some developmental milestones, and to ask questions should a delay appear.
If your child qualifies for your state’s SICC services, you will be assigned to a Service Coordinator. Your Service Coordinator will meet with you and write up an IFSP, Individual Family Service Plan. The IFSP contains information about the services necessary to facilitate a child’s development and enhance the family’s capacity to facilitate the child’s development. Through the IFSP process, family members and service providers work as a team to plan, implement, and evaluate services specific to the family’s concerns, priorities, and available resources. This plan is about the entire family and what they need in order to help the infant/toddler to reach their potential. You may need respite care (skilled care giving service which allows the parents time away from the house) along with Occupational Therapy and other early intervention for your child.
While you are taking this journey into early intervention, you, the parent will have a lot of feelings to deal with including, denial, grief and being overwhelmed. Please look into support groups in your area where you can talk to other parents who have been through what you are going through, and came out the other side still standing and with an in-tact family. There are also many online groups for every disability. Please build a support group for yourself. We all need one whether we have a child with a disability or not.
Hello, I just stopped by your blog and wanted to say hi. You have a lot of really great stuff on here, I really want to read more. thanks a lot for posting.
actually your blog is one of those i will bother to revisit. most i saw today are full of useless informations and advertising. thank you for providing some real content to the world
ok, i am curious to know how you are aware of this data. Anyway, its great. Thank You…
Great blog post.Really looking forward to read more.
You wouldn¡¯t believe it but I¡¯ve wasted all day digging for some articles about this. You¡¯re a lifesaver, it was an excellent read and has helped me out to no end. Cheers,
I have to state, you chose your words well. The ideas you wrote on your encounters are well placed. This is an incredible blog!
Your blog is so informative ¡ keep up the good work!!!!
interesting blog. It would be great if you can provide more details about it. Thanks you
Very good article post.Much thanks again. Will read on…
Usually I do not post on blogs, but I would like to say that this article really forced me to do so! Thanks, really nice article.
Interesting article. Were did you got all the information from…
The Subject of your blog is just what I needed. I hope to read more on this subject.
Definitely agree with everything you stated. Your explanation was certainly the easiest to comprehend. I usually get irked when folks discuss problems that they plainly are not aware of. You managed to hit the nail directly on the head and explained everything. I look forward to reading more of your posts. Thanks.
I must say you have a cool post. This hit the spot and then some! Thanks for posting this and sharing it with the world. I’ve just bookmarked your site. And I will check back soon to read your other articles. Keep up your awesome work.
i found this in a google search. i really like your blog. hard to find something both informative and easy to read.
nice article here hopefully i learned from it.
Hello, I just wanted to take some time today to make a comment and say I have really enjoyed reading your blog. Thanks for all your work!
I don¡¯t usually reply to posts but I will in this case. WoW
beneficial publication !!! see you
Greatful for this resource, I will put it to my early childhood education articles.
I think this is wonderful I truly appreciate the informations shared in this post I am going to bookmark this!
Good Day from Chicago! I found that extremely informative. Thanks for the update. I will be back to look for more news very soon.
My brother and I had been just debating your very topic, he’s normally attempting to prove me completely wrong. Your own view on this is fantastic and exactly how I really feel. I just now e-mailed my brother this site to show him your own view. Immediately after overlooking your blog I bookmarked and will be returning to read your messages!
This is a great post, I was wondering if I could use this blog post on my website, I will site though. Please let me know if this is a problem let me know and I will take it down right away.
Thanks a ton for this, I am greatful for the info
I got to this page from Facebook (my friend posted it). After checking your article, I clicked Like and shared it myseld.
Excellent content. Thanks for posting.
This is really good news. Thank you for sharing it with all of us!
I think that is an interesting point, it made me think a bit. Thanks for sparking my thinking cap. Sometimes I get so much in a rut that I just feel like a record.
found your site on del.icio.us today and really liked it.. i bookmarked it and will be back to check it out some more later
Nice being going to your blog once again, it has been months for me. Nicely this content that i’ve been waited for so long. I need this piece of writing to comprehensive my assignment inside college, and it has exact same subject together with your article. Thanks, good share.
Hey could I quote some of the material found in this post if I link back to you?
Just want commentabout this article, after reading whole of this it make me to have new vision about one big event, hope I can read more quality news again from you so I bookmark your website.
Of course, what a great site and informative posts, I will add backlink – bookmark this site? Regards, Reader.
You are a very smart person!
Thanks for this resource, I will put it to my early childhood education articles.
Appreciation. Sunny post! Note down further. It seems like I happen to regular visitor
I have been to your site several times now, and this time I am adding it to my bookmarks Your discussions are always relevant, unlike the same-old stuff on other sites (which are coming off my bookmarks!) Rock on!
loved this post!
The information you posted about it is so useful, I am expecting for your next post.
Friend of mine recommend me to visit your website, I found the informations I looked for . Thanxhair growth tips
I am brand-new to blogging and actually loved your website. I am going to bookmark your web site and keep checking you out. Thanks for sharing your site.
I’m diggin’ this site. I visit it frequently. I like the changes.
Thank you for the work you have put into your nice blog. We will bookmark to your blog because it is very informational. We love the site and will come back to see your new posts.
Thanks for the tip!
I am going to add your blog to my list!
I just wanna thank you for sharing your this info on your site,
interesting post, pretty much covered it all for me, thanks.
All too often when I click a search result I land on a blog that is no where near as nice as this. The content here is obviously a cut above the others. thank you so much for posting it. I will defninately be back for more.health weight loss
Thanks for sharing, great site and keep it up. I will be back!
Thanks, appreciate it.