It can be so hard as a parent when your child struggles to make friends. But having a hard time making friends may have nothing to do with your child’s personality. Rather it can be because of attention issues, like ADHD, or a learning disability, including executive functioning issues, nonverbal learning disabilities, auditory processing disorders or a language impairment.

There are many ways to help your child communicate better through everyday activities, including spending time with the child, reading with them, being at his or her eye level, following the child’s lead, speaking grammatically correct with the child, doing what interests them and asking questions about it. Give them time to answer and to verbally communicate with you. Set up situations where they have to request or comment to get what they desire.

As children grow and develop, they face opportunities to learn and to respond appropriately and to identify their feelings and emotions. When encountering new and/or stressful scenarios, children may “misbehave” on occasion during this process. Children may talk back, act out, or refuse to follow directions. However, when these behaviors begin repeatedly interfering with the home environment, social activities and school, it may be an indication that something other than emotional growing pains is happening. Your child may need to have an evaluation to determine what is happening. Many times they may have a speech, language or sensory delay. We can help.

Autism is a developmental disorder. It impairs an individual’s ability to interact socially, communicate clearly and effectively, and behave appropriately. Autism affects individuals of all backgrounds and races. It affects boys three to four times more often than girls. Autism can run in families, indicating a possible genetic link to the disorder. However, there is no cause of autism. Symptoms are often noticeable before the age of three. Symptoms may include: difficulty making eye contact, difficulty making friends or seeking out others to play with, difficulty taking turns, delay or lack of language skills, using repetitive motor movements, and seeming preoccupied, especially with parts and objects more than people. A child neurologist and/or psychologist can evaluate and diagnose autism. It is best to begin treatment of symptoms of autism as early as possible. A speech-language pathologist, occupational therapist, and physical therapist can be part of the evaluation team. These individuals, along with parents/caregivers can work together to help and implement intervention plans. Goals and objectives for interventions are to improve social interaction, communication, and/or behavior for better daily activities at school, home and in the community.

If you suspect your child has autism, follow these tips when going through the process of getting a diagnosis: trust yourself, talk to professionals, write everything down, ask a lot of questions and start early. Remember to enjoy every day with your child. Every child is unique and has special gifts. Know that you are not alone and take advantage of resources. We can help you.

An Individualized Education Program (IEP) is a special education term that outlines a set of goals for your child. In order to receive special services at school, a student must: (1) have a formal evaluation by a special education team (2) must have a disability that adversely affects the student’s educational performance (3) must require specially-designed instruction in order to gain access to the general curriculum and (4) must meet at least one of the 13 different categories.

The 13 categories under which a student can qualify for special education services are: autism, deaf-blind, deafness, emotional disturbance, hearing impaired, intellectual disability, multiple disabilities, orthopedic impairment, other health impairment, specific learning disability, speech or language impairment, traumatic brain injury, or visual impairment including blindness.

To qualify for therapy at school, a child must be below the 7th percentile in two areas and the impairment/delay must be adversely affecting their school performance. This means if a child is receiving school therapy services they are moderately to severely delayed. Most students who receive school therapy services will not catch up from school services alone. School services are most typically done one time weekly in a group of 3-5 students. If your child has a moderate to severe impairment they may require additional private therapy in a one-on-one setting in order to reach their therapy goals.