DR. ANTHONY RAO
  • Home
  • Books
  • Speaking
  • Articles
  • Media
  • About
  • Contact
  • Home
  • Books
  • Speaking
  • Articles
  • Media
  • About
  • Contact

Getting Your Child Evaluated… When to Take that Step?

1/7/2015

 
Picture
A parent recently asked about her two year old son. Like many boys, his language is delayed. Family and friends have commented that it might be a sign of autism. That got her worried. Should she take him to get evaluated by a specialist? Is that overreacting?

I find the best course of action is not to get worried unnecessarily or jump to worst case scenarios. That never helps a parent figure out what’s the next best step. Development is complicated and messy, especially in boys, with many false starts and alarms. Keep a clear head. Seek information from the right people. Don’t rush. Stay calm.

If you’re concerned, the best course of action is to start with your pediatrician. He or she already knows your child and his history. Set up an appointment specifically to talk about these issues. Don’t try to fit it into a rushed 15 minute wellness visit. If your pediatrician is also concerned about language development – or any other developmental areas – then the next step would be finding someone (or some program) that can do a good, balanced evaluation. It should inquire about a range of developmental areas: language, fine motor, gross motor, various mental operations, basic social skills. It should be someone (or a team) that takes into consideration the whole child and his environment, including what’s going on at home. They should spend time 1:1 with him doing tasks, waiting for him to feel comfortable, and engaging him to show what he can and cannot do.

Keep in mind that the process of evaluating children is not an exact science. It is a clinical process. I get concerned about simple “screening” that some professionals use. Those are simple checklists or quick meetings that, while convenient and cost-effective, often only give the appearance of a solid clinical evaluation. They aren’t. A proper evaluation should be a clinical face-to-face process. It shouldn’t be wrapped up in one brief meeting.

As for the advice family members and friends give, don’t let other people’s worries distract you from your task at hand. Stay focused on seeking knowledgeable people who can be objective and who see many kids in their professional work. Such people are developmental pediatricians, pediatric neurologists, psychologists, and learning specialists such as speech and occupational therapists.



Comments are closed.

    Archives

    October 2018
    June 2018
    February 2018
    October 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    October 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    April 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014

    Categories

    All
    Activities
    Better Parenting
    Bullying
    Diagnosis And Medication
    Family Matters
    Healthy Boys Developing
    Social Skills And Friendship
    Sports And Well Being

    RSS Feed

© ANTHONY RAO