The early years of a toddler/infant are very important. During the toddler years, children grow very quickly and learn a lot. All children have different growth rates but when a toddler/infant does not achieve the growth milestones then it is a cause for worry for the parents.
Every child is a bundle of joy for their parents but any signs of mental disability can be a cause of worry for them. But avoiding problems like autism or dyslexia is not in the hands of the parents or the doctors. Every parent should be aware of the growth milestones which their infant child is achieving and in case of any delays or differences in the achievement of these milestones, the parents should not waste time in getting help from a professional to get the diagnosis done.
For a parent of a special child, the responsibilities increase apart from the other responsibilities of the family. Mothers of children with special needs struggle with all the same kinds of child-rearing issues as other families — but the issues are often magnified.
However, the parent should keep in mind that time is the key to help a child to work towards overcoming the difficulty. Therefore, noticing the behavior early and acting upon your special kid would help you in getting the child overcome many of the difficulties. Acknowledging the first phase — identifying your child’s problem, the next step parent should do is opt to understand the methodology of early intervention skills.
It is important that you should start acting as early as possible. The work starts from the day when you notice that your child is not behaving or developing as per the growth milestones. Do not wait for the time to take care of the problems or think that as the child grows, the problems will go away automatically.
Unfortunately, the longer you wait; it would be more difficult for the child to overcome the difficulties. Research has shown that the time between birth and age 36 months is a critical developmental period in a child’s life. These months offer a window of opportunity that will not be available later. Early intervention programs minimise and in some cases prevent delays in development of infants and toddlers with disabilities.
They can decrease the need for special education and related services when a child enters school, and increase independence. Children whose special needs are identified and addressed during these crucial early years have a greater chance of reaching their full potential. Early intervention not only helps the child but it is helpful for the family as well to learn the best way to care for the child, support and promote the child’s development and help in inclusion of the child into the family and community.
Parents are a critical component in early intervention and an effective program should consider the stresses encountered by the families of children with autism and provide parents group and other emotional support. The early intervention should work in collaboration with the parents to help the child develop their skills.
(The writer is Surabhi Verma is director at Sparsh for Children)