How to Find the Right Developmental Services Provider for Your Special Needs Child

Raising a Special Needs child brings a whole new set of challenges to parenthood, and not all of those are in the home. Choosing the right service providers for your child and your family can be one of the most difficult, and rewarding, challenges you can face. Every child with Special Needs, regardless of severity level (mild, moderate, severe, profound) will at some point either require or benefit from services such as Physical Therapy, Occupational Therapy, Speech Therapy, or a mix of the three. You, as the adult in charge, will have to determine who is and is not allowed to touch your child.

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

1. Talk to your child's doctor, or doctors, about who (company, center, hospital, or individual person) they would recommend for Developmental and Rehabilitative Services. Talk to your insurance company's customer service department, and to any friends or family members you may have as well.
2. Call the suggested service providers and ask rude, uncomfortable questions that you really will need answers to--this is for your child, after all. Questions to ask would be:
3. "What is your turnover rate?"
   
   Your child will likely need services for many years. Consistency and stability will be vital to her success. Also, a high turnover rate can indicate that the management of this particular service provider does not properly value the employees. If the therapists are not valued here, the therapists of value will go elsewhere. Also, if the management does not value the employees, they will be even less likely to value you and your child.
4. "What is the average length of stay for an employee?"
   
   You need to know that your child can count on the same face greeting her and working with her every week. You will depend on this person coming to know your child intimately, to understand both her words and her nonverbal communications, and to respect her. It will take time to build this relationship.
5. "Do you specialize in pediatrics, or do you work with adults as well? If you work with adults, do your pediatric therapists work with both adults and children, or only the children?"
   
   Pediatric Physical Therapy and Adult Physical Therapy are two very different approaches. You will need a therapist who specializes in working with young children. A therapist who has to switch back and forth between methods may lose patience with your child or expect too much after working with adults and teenagers.
6. "Are parents welcome to observe the therapy sessions?"
   
   Your child's success will depend largely on you, not the therapist. The therapist will see her once, maybe twice per week. The other five or six days of the week belong to you and to your ability to carry out the therapy at home. You must be present in the session to see, hear, discuss and learn the activities the therapist engages your child in. You are the most vital part of the team. If the answer to this question is "no," this is not the place for your child.
7. "My child has [diagnosis]. Do you have anyone on staff with extra education or certifications for working with children like mine?"
   
   There are several programs for service providers that offer special certifications in working with children of various diagnoses. Many Special Needs overlap in their symptoms and treatments, so this additional training can be beneficial for most.
8. "Are there alternate therapy services available, such as aquatic or hippotherapy?"
   
   These options are not a requirement, but they could be very beneficial to your child if available.
9. If the answers to these questions are satisfactory, request a tour of the facilities.
10. Bring your child along on the tour. Watch how people respond to your child. Do they spontaneously greet her? Do they talk to her at all? Do they treat her as a little person, or as an object in the room? You want everyone there, from management on down, to value your child and see her as a person of worth. If you are in areas where therapy services are being conducted with other children, pay attention to how those therapists treat their patients. Remember, they will treat your child the way they treat their other patients.
11. There are a few points you should be looking for on the tour. Look at the equipment available. Is it clean and in good repair? Do you see any assistants bustling around with clean sheets, towels and spray cleaners? Does the equipment look colorful and inviting to a child, or dark and imposing (weight machines can be scary)? Are there plenty of different toys? Is there a swing? Is there a ball pit? Does this look like a place for a child, or for an adult?
12. After the tour, consider everything you saw and learned. You are making a long-term commitment for your child, and you have a sacred responsibility to make the best choices possible for her. You want a place that is warm and welcoming, a place that is obviously for children, and people who are obviously child-oriented. You also want staff who are open to speaking with and educating you, and who will welcome your presence and even assistance in the sessions.
13. If you are satisfied with the results of your investigation, call the service providers and schedule your child's initial evaluation.
14. Remember, if this does not turn out to be the partnership you thought it would be, or if your child does not progress developmentally within a few months, you can always change providers.

Tips & Warnings

• Remember that your child's doctors are probably associated with a particular set of care providers, such as "Saint Whoever's Hospital," and will be obligated to of course recommend "Saint Whoever's Development and Rehabilitation" first, regardless of their personal opinions of the services offered. Be sure to ask who else they would recommend, other than "Saint Whoever's."
• Pediatric Developmental and Rehabilitative Therapy and Adult Rehabilitative Therapy are two very different approaches. You will need a therapist who specializes in working with young children.