Early intervention choices and impact

What early intervention did you settle on and how did it impact you and your child?

S-Ish - I was always on the lookout as I was not completely satisfied with the therapies I was receiving. He was going for OT, Speech and other therapies where there used to be some schedule and goals. Everywhere it felt like we were paying a lot of money, Ish was going inside, crying and coming back. At that point, I did not see crying behavior as a part of the learning process. We were a little unsettled because nowhere we were allowed inside and there was not much clarity. We also sent Ish to school. He attended LKG and UKG with a shadow teacher. My initial goals were that Ish should speak, should not cry and behave well, and that he should attend a mainstream school. These were the goals I had for him until he was 6 years old. After that, he started to communicate which I was happy about. By then he also acquired certain patterns and I had a shift in my goals. By then his OT was also going alright. The therapist gave home plans and some ABA tips. I was still seeking help with other therapies and asked for suggestions as I did not know how to manage at home. The therapist then referred me to this therapy center for ABA.. Since it was transparent and we were given a clear picture here, we felt more settled. At no point, I gave up working on him. Meeting parents who were confident gave hope that they must be doing something right. So I would seek their help. My family was very supportive through this process. My husband would say decide whatever is working for you and do that, we’ll support you. My mom and sister were always available for me. Financially also we didn’t have challenges. That was a big plus point for us. We also sent Ish to other classes like the Kumaon class where they teach the Japanese method of learning math and english. I stopped OT and started physical training instead when he was 7 years old.

HM - We started with special education, but since we did not see any improvement, we shifted to ABA. We knew about ABA before, but financially we were not sure if we could support it long term. While shifting we thought we’ll see for 2 years and then we could homeschool. I wish we had started earlier. M underwent food intervention as he was not eating properly. Even to get him to drink water was a struggle. But once we cracked it, it opened up new skills and learnings for M. His sitting tolerance increased and hyperactivity went down. With the schedule in place, his anxiety also went down. We were very happy with the progress he was making.

SS - We settled on whatever was provided in the US. They were doing ABA, but quite different from what is being offered here. They used sign language for communication predominantly with kids who were not fluent. He was picking vocabulary from Disney movies and would then use that for communication. He started talking again by the time he was 8 years old. Until then his school provided speech therapy and Occupational therapy. I wish we found this therapy center earlier and started off here.

SG - Special education. It worked for G. He picked up a few skills. Even though it was slow, he was picking up things until I decided to put him in a preschool after 1 year of early intervention, going with the suggestion of his special education therapy center. I feel like he might have regressed there. He dropped even the few skills he had picked up. He was still continuing Occupational Therapy and Speech Therapy, so things were alright at that front. I removed him from the preschool and enrolled him in another special education therapy center itself for another year before going for ABA.