What to do when you suspect a child may have Autism

A few months back I was asked to speak about Autism to a group of teachers at a local child care center. Actually, I was asked to train the teachers in what to do with their preschoolers with Autism. They gave me an hour. My first thought was of the movie "The Matrix" where they use some sort of virtual training to teach Keanu Reeves how to use Jujitsu or something in 15 seconds. Should be no problem, really.

After realizing that virtual school is probably not applicable in this situation, I thought about what might be helpful in the given time frame. Usually when I speak to child care providers, I'm often asked- "How do I tell parents when I think there's a problem?"

In preparing for my talk, I came across some suggestions at FirstSigns.org. On this website they list suggestions for how to share concerns if you are:

1. a parent sharing concerns with another parent
2. a parent sharing concerns with the child's physician, or
3. a physician sharing concerns with a parent,

Among the suggestions listed are:

1. Set the stage for a successful conversation
2. Listen to the child’s parent, start with their observations or concerns
3. Always be supportive, never judgmental
4. Avoid jargon, labels, and terminology
5. Keep it positive
6. Focus on milestones, absolute indicators, and the need to "rule out" anything serious.
7. Refer parents and caregivers to other resources. Sometimes parents need to come to this understanding on their own.
8. Emphasize the importance of early identification and intervention.

I think I like the second suggestion the best. Sometimes by listening you can find out where the family is coming from. As a speech/language pathologist, I frequently hear from parents who already have concerns of their own. This can be different for families at a child care setting. Regardless, knowing how the family feels about their child's development can help you know how best to raise your own concerns.

It can be challenging to raise concerns about a child's development with the family, but it is often even more difficult for families. Different people respond in different ways. It's important to be sensitive to the fact that this can be a very emotional time for families. Early identification can be critical for young children, so it is important to raise those concerns, despite how difficult it may be.