How to Really Help

Most parents do not realize that the education and medical system are not closely monitoring your child’s best interest. A child can often fall between the cracks especially in a large classroom setting. A child can be misdiagnosed at a dr appointment. This can happen over and over again to the same child. Before it gets too late and too much time has gone by do something. Parents should not feel threatened by the school system or the medical industry. You know your child! If you are a parent that feels your child is not getting everything they need then you decide what can be done.

If you feel Your child may have some delays for example who do you turn to? Who helps you discover what needs to be done to help your child? Most pediatricians never see enough of your child in an office visit to tell if he/she is lacking in social, cognitive, or motor skills.

In a classroom of 22 how long will it take for Mrs Robins to see that Billy cannot understand all of his reading and that he has a comprehension delay. How long before Mr Smith identifies Sally as a student that is having visual tracking issues while reading?

This is not anyone else job! It is yours as a parent. It is your job because chances are nobody else will do it for you.

What happens if your child is in a daycare setting and your provider brings it to your attention that he/she is struggling with fine motor skills and speech. You are advised by the provider to bring it to your drs attention at the next well check. The dr shrugs it off and nothing is done. Now a whole year will go by while your child gets no help. In this case the dr doesn’t know best. Most drs cannot diagnose a child in the spectrum by a ten minute office visit.

now let me ask you. What does your dr do when you bring your child in for a well check. Do they assess everything we are talking about in this article? How did your dr respond when you told him your daughters preschool teacher is concerned with her vocabulary?? Did he send her for an evaluation ? I hope so!!! But many parents find themselves sent home with no answers. In fact I have never seen a dr refer a child for an evaluation. They should be! It’s part of their job when you decide to hire them as your child’s pediatrician. A well check is not just for immunizations and weight checks. Some drs give parents a questionnaire to answer about age appropriate concerns. Does the dr read over these answers with you? Do they sit you down to talk about concerns you may have? I hope so!! Ever hear of a silent disease? There are silent issues with children that possibly nobody will discover with your child. Not the teachers and not the drs. So again I tell you this is your job! In the case of the child that is struggling with speech and the provider has talked to the parent and the parent brings it up to the dr only to be shrugged off what happens next? What should the parent do?? Contact your school district and ask for early intervention information. There are many programs that will evaluate and provide services for your child and most of them are either paid for by insurance or your school district. Isn't it strange that nobody tells you this? Not even the dr that you just expressed your concerns with. It happens every day!! When a child isn’t being identified for health issues or developmental issues it is neglect by the parent and the system. Sadly not every parent knows and understands where their child should be developmentally. I want to change that!! I wish I could give every parent the knowledge to see when their child needs more! The parent isn’t always educated about child development so they are relying on the education and medical system . And they are failing! If you have a child that is not being treated they way you feel they should be change drs. It’s your right!! If you feel your child is suffering from a delay then get them help even if you have a fraction of a concern. Don’t waste any time. The earlier you get them help the more successful they will become. A child that does have developmental delays should be evaluated by an entire evaluation team made up of a psychologist, occupational therapist, speech therapist and a case worker. This entire team will evaluate your child in specific areas. This is a team that works together through the entire process of your child’s evaluation. Your child should have at least a full day of testing in order to come up with a possible diagnosis. This is exactly why I say ten minutes in your drs office isn’t enough time. Prior to you child’s evaluation you can expect to fill out a lot of paperwork in order to educate the professionals all about your child and your concerns . They take all this information into account while evaluating your child.

They should also get all records from your child’s pediatrician as well. Just remember always speak up no matter who is not listening to you !! Someone will!! Just keep searching!!