Child with Developmental Delays Takes on the Challenges of Childhood with Support from AzEIP
A child’s growth is continual as they transition from milestone to milestone. With each stage, a child must adapt as their bodies and minds grow, and these transitions can be more challenging for children with a developmental delay. However, committed parents, with support from programs like the Arizona Early Intervention Program (AzEIP), can help children with developmental delays meet those challenges. Nathan, who was born six weeks premature, is just one of many who’ve been helped by AzEIP.
Nathan started receiving services from AzEIP in January 2022 after exhibiting a speech delay and symptoms of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Within just ten months, Nathan’s development progressed to the point where he was able to “graduate” from the program in October 2022. But this was only the beginning.
Initially, he did fine. Although Nathan’s parents noticed some regression in him, they weren’t sure if it was Nathan’s development or the fact that Nathan now had a little brother and was no longer the baby of the family.
His parents then started to notice changes in Nathan’s behavior. He stopped talking for a while, began what could be perceived as stimming (self-stimulatory behavior), and repeated certain words. After a visit to the pediatrician and a consultation with a specialist in assessing developmental challenges, Nathan was diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder.
Ashley, Nathan’s mom, and her youngest, nine-month-old Kayce.
“I wasn’t sure in the beginning, when we first got the diagnosis, exactly where to start,” said Nathan’s mother, Ashley, “[until] the developmental pediatrician told us to start with AzEIP.”
Ashley reached out to their former AzEIP service coordinator, Meredith Florence in February. However, Nathan is now on the cusp of turning age 3. At age 3, Nathan will be ineligible for AzEIP services, and he would be transitioned out of the program into other community resources.
In order to ensure Nathan continues to receive the services he needs, Meredith helped the family apply for services from the DES Division of Developmental Disabilities (DDD). She also helped the family navigate through the school system and has successfully set up an Individualized Education Plan (IEP) with Dysart Unified School District.
“May 28 is the last day he qualifies for AzEIP services,” said Ashley. However, Nathan’s IEP and possible transition into DDD will greatly support his development in the years ahead.
To Ashley, autism is “just a unique way [of] how he’s processing things. It just makes him [do things] his own way. It’s just that we may have to change things that we do and the way that we do it for him to understand and process it.”
She reminds others, “Nathan is not autism. He has autism, but he’s still Nathan.”
Early intervention is critical in the development of a child, and by providing services and supports as soon as possible, kids like Nathan are set up for success. Learn more about AzEIP services and how you can apply today.