Tips for seeking NDaffirming services for your child

I am passionate about accommodating and supporting our neurodivergent children in my clinic! It is important for parents to be educated, informed and supported when seeking services for their child. I always tell my parents “If it feels wrong to you then it is wrong!” It is ok to stop or take a break from a therapy that may be causing trauma to your child. I once had a Mom that told me when they entered the parking lot of one of her 2 year old’s therapy’s, she immediately went into panic mode and meltdown and screamed the entire session. This Mom said, she never does that with you, she is happy to come here. This made me so sad because this child had no oral words at the time and was clearly communicating that something was wrong. All behavior is communication. Luckily, the Mom was open to hearing about my thoughts and stopped attending that therapy. What benefit was it to the child if she was in fight or flight the entire time?? NONE!!!! I hope some of these touch points are helpful to you when seeking services. I do not believe in withholding favorite items from a child to make them perform, or earn them. I do not believe in using food as a reward to get them to do something or say something this leads to prompt dependence. I do not believe in ignoring a child’s non verbal communication to force oral words only this leads to frustration when they have already communicated. I do not like the practice of taking a child’s hand (hand over hand) and making them do an activity. I prefer hand under hand or let them hand lead me. I also prefer to just show them how to do something by modeling it.