What’s the next step if you suspect your child has a disability or they have just been diagnosed with one
YOU SUSPECT A DISABILITY
First, breath. This is generally a long process with many steps. Second, if you believe your child may have a disability or delay the next step is to reach out to your pediatrician. This is an important step because, in the state of Ohio at least, you will need a referral, which typically comes from your doctor. Your pediatrician may also be able to provide you with more information and further guidance.
The referral is generally to a Developmental-Behavioral Pediatrician (DBP) who can evaluate and treat your child. They may practice within a hospital, major medical center, clinic, or private practice. They are one of the people who can provide you with a “medical diagnosis”- we will get into why that is important in another post. They may also refer you to other clinics for further testing like genetics, an Autism Clinic or vision.
If you suspect Autism, you will also need to get into an Autism Diagnostic Clinic (ADC).
IMPORTANT NOTE- there is typically a waitlist for an appointment with a DBP or ADC that is quite long and it may take multiple visits to get a diagnosis. IMPORTANT NOTE- Do not wait too long to start this process as some DBP and ADC practices have a cut off age. Example- some Autism Clinics will only see or diagnosis until the age of 5, after that it becomes more difficult to locate someone who can provide you with the diagnosis.
NOW THAT YOU HAVE A DISABILITY DIAGNOSIS, WHAT’S THE NEXT STEP?
As mentioned before there may be further referrals to additional medical doctors that you are referred to in the care of your child. You may also want to begin early intervention. It is considered best practice to start therapy and other services early when children are young, as this is when the brain is still developing and has more neuroplasticity; meaning it is more capable of change and new learning.
“You can’t teach an old dog new tricks”- not true, it just takes a lot more effort and work!
In Ohio, early intervention can occur in an outside setting through outpatient or private therapy or at home through Help Me Grow (HMG). Some families chose to do both or just one depending on their child’s and family’s needs. And depending on your insurance outpatient or private therapy may or may not be covered. Early Intervention will continue until your child has met their milestones and caught up to their peers or they become school-age, in which case, HMG services end and your local public school takes over your child’s care.
Please let me know if you found this helpful or what other information you would like