Importance of early intervention.

Speech-Language Pathologist Sarah Scheflen, OTR/L Melissa Idelson, and mom Lacey Dodd discuss the importance of early intervention
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Importance of early intervention.

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- So early intervention, it's critical. It's the most important thing I could tell any parent. Again, I can't stress enough, if you're having any concerns, go see someone. It's better to go get the help than wait. I've seen children, it's amazing, that come into my office. They had no language; they engage in tons of behaviors, and it's looking not good for families. But they come in there and they get the help, and they get the intervention, and years later, these kids, you wouldn't be able to pick 'em out in a crowd as having autism, so the earlier the better is what I find with these children, and what the research is finding. If you get the help, the child can do really well.

- Early intervention is critical for laying down the foundations of development. It is like feeding the roots of a tree. Every part of development is going to be a platform for your child to learn. Everything they do in those early years, between say zero to five, zero to six, as part of the developmental process, are gonna be skills and abilities that they will build upon in their learning years. So it is critical to have early intervention in order for there not to be a developmental gap, and therefore not a learning challenge later on.

- Early intervention is one of the greatest gifts that you can give your child. No matter where you're living in the U.S. or globally, you will find a university or a hospital where you can be directed to an early intervention program. The children there will learn social interaction. They will learn order. They'll make friends. Hopefully they'll learn sign language as a means of total communication, using every means to express themself as possible, whether speech, as I say sign, or other manipulatives. Just enough cannot be said about it. It really gives your child the best early intervention actually, as it suggests, the best start to life, in a really comforting, secure environment. I'm very, very blessed that my son has been at UCLA.


Speech-Language Pathologist Sarah Scheflen, OTR/L Melissa Idelson, and mom Lacey Dodd discuss the importance of early intervention

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