Identifying Early Signs & Symptoms

A detailed list of milestones with child's age group is enclosed in our "Developmental milestones for children". Some of these crucial milestones that can help in early detection and diagnosis for children are :

• Smiles by 6 months
• Imitates facial expressions or sounds by 9 months
• Coos or babbles by 12 months
• Gestures (points or waves) by 14 months
• Speaks with single words by 16 months and uses phrases of two words or more by 24 months
• Plays pretend or “make-believe” by 18 months.

One should consult a specialist, If the child doesn't meet these developmental milestones or meets but loses track later on. Early detection always helps hence it's crucial to observe the signs and symptoms.

Communication

The development of communication skills starts at a child's birth. It's a crucial milestone for parents to observe.

• In ASD, Autism spectrum disorders, about 40% of the kids don't talk at all
• During Infancy, about 25 to 30% show initial development of some language skills but lose them later
• Some children start talking later on in life
• Most of the children with ASD, ADHD, Speech Delays, Speech Disorders etc have some concerns around communication

Communication Concerns

Some of these communication concerns include :

• Delayed speech
• Delayed language skills
• Inability to stick to a topic while conversing or answering questions
• Flat speaking voice like a robot
• Repeating the same phrase over and over, Echolalia
• Problems with pronouns (E.g. using “you” instead of “I,”)
• Rare or no use of common gestures like waving or pointing or responding to them
• Unable to make out jokes or sarcasm

Signs and Symptoms

Some of the overall signs and symptoms in neuro-diverse children include :

• Poor Eye Contact
• Poor Listening Skills
• Distorted or Unclear Speech
• Difficult Behaviours
• Limited or Short Attention Span
• Limited Vocabulary
• Difficulty in Interpreting Instructions
• Feeding Concerns and Difficulties

Why Intervene Early ?

• Children with speech and language delays are at the risk of developing anxiety and stress. As children are unable to express themselves they develop 'avoidance behaviours' which significantly limits their interactions and they miss out opportunities to communicate and build interpersonal relationships. Anxiety may be difficult to detect in a child with a language delay, but it is arguably the most critical and hence has to be identified and addressed on time.
• Children with delays develop behavioural problems to deal with their inability to communicate and release frustration. If not intervened early, these behaviours eventually turn into habits that can be detrimental to the child's social, emotional and psychological development.
• Children with good 'language nutrition' in their formative years are most likely to succeed at school. There is no dearth of research that indicates that the brain's capacity for change decreases with age. The neuroplasticity of the brain is highest until 3 years of age, which is clearly why 0-3 years is called 'the critical age' for a child's overall development. After age six, neuroplasticity is reduced and it becomes more difficult (but not impossible) for the human brain to learn speech and language.
• Children who have received language rich environment have already established a strong foundation in reading and writing skills. It is needless to mention that our spoken language directly/indirectly influences our written language. Therefore, early the intervention, better is the progress at school.
• To conclude, it is always advisable to educate oneself about the developmental milestones and speech and language red flags and then take actionable steps to bridge the speech and language gap identified in your child by a certified speech and language pathologist. It is imperative that you ACT swiftly than to later remediate the behaviours and challenges that comes with the 'wait it out' approach.

Our Multidisciplinary Approach

We follow a Multidisciplinary approach for providing solutions to unleash the fullest potential of children with special needs and developmental delays along with empowering parents.

Our Session Modules

1. Online Sessions - Assessments and Sessions conducted online by our doctors and healthcare specialists at the convenience of your home without logistical hassles and with complete safety especially in the pandemic.
2. Hybrid Sessions - Combination of Online + Offline Sessions - This includes a combination of both the modules.
3. Integrated Centre Based - These are offered at our centres by our doctors and healthcare specialists who are committed to our angels, children with special needs by passionately supporting and empowering parents and each child to attain to the fullest of their potential.
4. Home-Based Sessions - These sessions are centred around empowering parents with resources, mentorship and training to enable their child to attain to the fullest potential. This program revolves around the conviction that parents are the architects of a child's foundation. The more the involvement, the better the foundation of the child. Hence we render an ecosystem to empower and enable parents and caretakers.
5. Inclusive School Based - This module aims at providing clinical support to schools for quality education and desired ecosystem for our angels, neuro-diverse children. Our Services include Occupational Therapy, Speech Therapy, Behavioural Therapy, Special Education and Shadow Teacher in Inclusive set-up.

Speech & Language Delays: The Red Flags and the Risks associated with 'Waiting it out'

We would agree that a parent's knowledge on child development greatly affects the quality of their child's progress and their opportunities for learning. If asked about the importance of adequate "nutrition" in the developmental years of the child, we would hear loud and confident affirmations by all the parents. Well, of course nutrition is vital in the overall development of the child, but what if we tell you that nutrition doesn't not restrict itself to food?

Language Nutrition : The term "language nutrition" was coined by a group of language scientists to describe the use the of language that is sufficiently rich in engagement, quality, quantity, and context that it nourishes the child neurologically, socially and linguistically. There has been wealth of data and discussions to incorporate language rich interactions with children between the ages 0-3 years and its importance. The goal of these studies however has been to discuss speech and language development with paediatric healthcare providers who can the further integrate language nutrition coaching into their daily practice to help support families in optimising their child's future health and education trajectory.

Identify Red Flags : If you are a parent or a primary care giver of a child, we urge you to ask yourself the following questions :

• Have you felt that your child does not speak as much as other children ?
• Have you noticed that your child has difficulty in understanding what you say ?
• Is your child having a tough time socialising with other children and building peer relationships ?
• Is your child exhibiting any inconsistencies in responding to their name calls or following verbal requests ?
• Does your child exhibit temper tantrums and indulge in self injurious behaviours?
• Is your child's speech unintelligible to strangers?
• If the answer to any of these questions is "yes", then it is definitely a cause of concern because it points at a atypical development of your child.

The Risk Associated with "Waiting it Out"

As children grow they are expected to achieve certain milestones in their speech and language both (Speech & Language are two different intersecting entities) and if any of these milestones are delayed then it indicates age inappropriate development that could leave the child behaviourally, socially and emotionally vulnerable. There has been ample amount of data where both parents and primary healthcare providers of the children with delayed speech and language milestones adopt a "wait it out" approach where they "hope" that the child will catch up on their speech and language skills. While there are no qualms in having hope, banking a child's development and progress on it sounds pretty risky.

At Fynd Health, we follow a Multidisciplinary Approach for providing solutions to unleash the fullest potential of children with special needs & developmental delays along with empowering parents.