Getting Help for Your Special Needs Child

You are not alone. Services are available. You just need to know where to look. Here's what you should know about getting help for your special needs child.

The first thing all parents of special needs children should know is that they’re not alone. It may, at times, feel that way, but help is available.

YOU MIGHT ALSO LIKE: Our Children and Teen Care section

For Renee Dail, something was amiss when her son, Louis, wasn’t pulling himself up at nine months or taking his first steps at one year. “He was missing those key developmental milestones,” she said. “Other kids his age were starting to walk. Louis wasn’t.”

Watching her friends’ children crawling, sitting up, walking, and following developmental milestones on cue was hard. Instead of getting too worried, she called her son’s pediatrician, who told her that all children develop at different degrees and not to worry. Still, she wouldn’t let it go.

A neighbor told her about her grandchild, who experienced similar symptoms. “The one positive was knowing I wasn’t alone,” she said. “Most parents don’t understand what’s wrong and often think they are in a unique situation. We’re not.”

Her neighbor told her about early intervention programs that help children with developmental delays. Every state has programs in which social workers and medical personnel evaluate children. Through her state’s early intervention program, Dail was able to have specialists — such as speech therapists, occupational therapists, and physical therapists — evaluate her child.

Dail’s son needed an occupational therapist to help him with his fine motor skills. Like Dail’s son, your child can get services provided under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. Services are often free or are available at a low cost.

Early intervention is for children from birth to age 3. Requirements for eligibility include having a developmental delay (where your child is far behind other children his age) or a specific health condition like hearing loss, birth defects, or a genetic disorder.

The types of services your child receives depend on where you live because they vary from state to state. The team of health experts working with your child will put an individualized family service plan together that lists all of the services your child will receive and the goals that they expect your child to meet.

Once your child enters public school, a new team of teachers and social workers will make sure your child transitions with ease. They will put together an individualized education plan (IEP) for your child. Like the individualized family service plan, an IEP lists goals that your child should achieve and the services he or she will receive in school.

If your child is getting individualized family services, that team will advise you to contact the school about the IEP. If your child didn’t get early intervention when he or she was younger, talk to your child’s pediatrician and school to get an IEP.

If your child is turned down for services, you can contact a lawyer. “It’s important to speak up for your child to make sure he gets all the services he needs,” Dail said. “I have two friends who fought their school district because they denied special services to their children. They both hired lawyers and won their cases. Now, their children have IEPs and the services they need.”

Services tend to drop off once a child hits middle school, mostly because of lack of funding and because school administrators believe that your child will adjust and outgrow the need for such programs. Yet many children still need the services to succeed in school.

If special education services stop at a certain grade and you feel that your child still needs specialized education, talk to your school’s special education department on the district level, to see if he or she qualifies for a private special education school.

Such schools vary greatly. Some work with children with behavior problems. Others enroll students with learning disabilities. The way you’ll know which school is right for your child is to do a lot of research. Check out special needs schools in your area, talk to the people who work there, and make an appointment for a visit. If you think your child qualifies, the school can help you transfer your child.

Being the parent of a special needs child makes you an advocate for your child to get the services he or she needs.

Resources

• The ARCH National Respite Network will help you take a break from caregiving for any disabled person.
• The Arc provides a wide range of services for the intellectually disabled and their families.
• Easter Seals also offers respite programs.

YOU MIGHT ALSO LIKE: Our Autism section