It can be scary to realize that your toddler is not hitting
the usual developmental milestones, when you realize that your child is not
speaking or using skills that are typical of children of the same age. While children
do develop at different rates, it is important to get professional help if you
believe there is a serious issue. Certainly, the first step is to consult a
pediatrician for a preliminary evaluation, but not all pediatricians can make a
firm diagnosis for complex disorders, such as autism. In those cases, parents
are directed to a childhood development specialist, but such specialists are
few and far between, and new-patient waiting lists can be months, even years,
long. Given that early intervention is one of the best ways to alleviate the
effects of autism and other developmental disorders, the sooner therapeutic
intervention can begin, the better are the long-term prospects for the child.
While seeking expert care, one thing that concerned
parents can do is contact the school district, even if the child in question is
younger than school age. The school will send out a team to evaluate the child
and decide if the child needs early intervention and what type of intervention
would be appropriate. In the case of my own family, the school district was the
first to respond to our concerns about one of our children. My husband and I have
triplet sons, and as the boys reached toddlerhood, it was clear that one of
them, Evren, was not developing like the other two. Evren didn’t speak when the others learned to,
he seemed obsessed with strange activities and played by himself, while the
other two chattered and laughed and socialized happily with everyone. When he
was two, we took Evren to a pediatrician who referred us on to a developmental
psychologist, whose waiting list was several months long.
We also called the Bethlehem school district. In short
order, two evaluators came to our house and assessed Evren, noting his
developmental delays and referring him for early intervention in the BASD. Until he was three, Evren was visited by a BASD
therapist in the home. Once he turned three, he entered Mullen Hall, the
special education preschool for developmentally delayed children, including
other children who were diagnosed with autism, as Evren eventually was. At
Mullen Hall, Evren was provided therapy for speech, socialization, and other
important aspects of childhood development. Once he entered grade school, he
was placed in autism support classrooms from kindergarten to high school. Even as we built up Evren’s care network to
include medical specialists, wrap-around services, home health care, and other
services, we could always count on Evren attending the autism support
classrooms, where he received daily education and therapy. The school district also provides support
classrooms for children with other types of disabilities, as well as
mainstreamed learning support for students who need a little extra guidance in
the regular education classrooms.
I know most people do not think of the school districts
as frontline resources for dealing with early childhood developmental problems.
But a primary mandate of the public schools like BASD is to educate all
children, including those who require extra support and specialized care.
BASD Special Education Department Telephone: 610-868-8268
Website: https://www.beth.k12.pa.us/Academics/SpecialEducation/contact.lasso
KimShivelyPhD.com 