How soon a child with special needs gets the help they need can be incredibly impactful. For many conditions, the earlier a child is able to get such help, the better off they may end up being in the long run.
So, it can be incredibly frustrating for a parent when roadblocks come up in connection to getting their child needed treatment and assistance. Among the things that can lead to delays in a special needs child getting treated for a condition are delays in that condition being diagnosed.
As a recent San Diego Union-Tribune article discussed, one condition that diagnosis delays sometimes come up in connection to is autism. Autism sufferers can exhibit a range of symptoms. Some individuals have autism that presents in atypical ways. Also, some autism symptoms are ones that could easily be accidently attributed to other causes. These things can create the potential for doctors to mistakenly dismiss an autism sufferer’s symptoms or accidently diagnose them with a different condition.
Given this, parents of autistic children can sometimes end up waiting awhile for their child to finally receive an autism diagnosis. The San Diego Union-Tribune article tells the story of a family that went through a yearlong struggle to get their child properly diagnosed.
Now, there are some programs out their aimed at helping parents who have encountered challenges in getting their child assessed for autism. One wonders what the future will see regarding how common such programs become and the overall state of the diagnosing of autism here in the United States.
Another area in which getting a special needs child the help they need as promptly as possible can be important is education. Unfortunately, this is another area where delays could arise. Things that could cause such delays include challenges and difficulties with getting an appropriate and well-tailored special education plan put in place for the child at the child’s school. When a parent of an autistic child is experiencing such challenges in their interactions with their child’s school, they may want a skilled attorney’s advice on what steps can be taken to try to address the challenges and reduce the chances of the challenges delaying their child’s access to the education resources they need.