EVERYTHING
FOR YOUR FAMILY
|
| ||||
|
Advertise
With Us
Click here to request more information.
OC Family reaches:
- Active & educated parents
- Growing families
- And more...
Feature
|
||||
 In many cases, parents are looking at everyday differences between individuals. Children develop at different rates. Often, the child quickly catches up to his or her peers. There are times when families might need to take a closer look and see if further action should be taken to properly address the problem. With the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention now estimating that 1 in 110 children have an autism spectrum disorder (ASD), it helps for parents to be aware and to ask questions of a professional. Early recognition can help set a developmentally delayed child on the right path of care sooner rather than later. What to look for By the age of 12 months, a child should be able to share something with you by pointing a finger, understand “no,” and follow your pointed finger to look. They will turn to respond to their name. Typically-developing children will be able to play simple games (e.g., peek-a-boo, pat-a-cake), imitate gestures and movements, babble with changes in vocal pitch, try to imitate words, and be able to use at least two different words. By the end of 2 years, a child should be able to follow simple instructions, have make-believe play, recognize the names of familiar objects, and use simple phrases. When to be concerned Besides not meeting developmental milestones, there are behaviors that provide reason for concern. Social behaviors that can indicate deeper problems would be if your child regularly avoids being touched or if they avoid eye contact. Also, if they spend a large amount of time doing solitary activities such as lining up or spinning objects rather than participating in back-and-forth social play. A loss of skills is another red flag. For example, if a child previously spoke several words, used gestures, and gave eye contact in response to praise, and no longer does so, follow-up by a professional is needed. If you notice these signs or aren’t sure, a visit to a developmental pediatrician, pediatric neurologist, or pediatric diagnostic team is a good way to diagnose or rule out an ASD. What can be done? If your child qualifies, early intervention services are available to assist your child’s development with services coordinated by your local Regional Center. To find out more information about typical development, signs of developmental delay, qualifying for services, and contact information for your local Regional Center, visit the California Department of Developmental Services Early Start Web site at dds.ca/earlystart. For those living in Orange County, the Regional Center of Orange County intake and assessment line is at 714.796.5354. Early intervention services can greatly improve a child’s developmental path. Applied behavior analysis (ABA) is a treatment approach that has been used in the remediation of skill deficits, the increase of desired behaviors, and the decrease of undesired behaviors or behaviors that interfere with learning. In young children with developmental delays, these 1:1 behavior services are implemented to address delays in one or two developmental domains, or across many areas of delay. Training of and participation by parents and caregivers is considered an important component to the success of programming. By working together from an early age, the quality of life of a child with developmental delays may be greatly improved, and some children’s delays are completely resolved. Information in this article is general in nature and should not be used to diagnose or rule out any type of developmental delay. Please consult the appropriate professional with concerns about your child’s development. Christine Soriano, BCBA, is clinical director at Pacific Child and Family Associates. |
||||
RSS SubscribeSEARCH THE SITE
