What should be done when symptoms of developmental delay present?

If you suspect that one of your patients is experiencing delays in development, then a referral to the state regional center is usually your best option. The regional center in your area conducts comprehensive assessments and screenings for children with suspected delays. All assessments and services are provided free of charge to the families.
The regional centers closest to SmartStart are listed here.
 
What is Floortime (DIR) and how is it different from traditional models of intervention (ABA)?

DIR (Developmental, Individual-Difference, Relationship-Based)/Floortime model provides a comprehensive framework for understanding and supporting children’s development. It is ideally suited to children with developmental delays, including speech delays, motor delays, sensory integrative dysfunction, autism spectrum and related disorders, Downs Syndrome, cerebral palsy, as well as rare syndromes. It focuses on helping children master the building blocks of relating, communicating and thinking, rather than on symptoms alone. The most striking difference between DIR and ABA is in DIR’s strong advocacy that relationships are critical to a child’s development. More details here.
 
I thought that Floortime was only for high-functioning children and just worked on social skills.

Those are common misconceptions about DIR. But it is much more than a social skills program and it focuses on more than social development. DIR combines essential elements found in treatment approaches like ABA/DTT. But the additional, semi-structured component of a DIR program provides specific objective-based interactions that address the individual needs of each child. More details here.
 
SmartStart at a glance

Specialization in: Autism, sensory integrative dysfunction, genetic sydromes, cerebral palsey, motoric disorders (dyspraxia), speech & language delay, and rare syndromes
 
Ages served: 0-18 years old. Specializing in infants, preschool and elementary aged children
 
All services at SmartStart are eligible for public funding. Our services are vendored by the regional center system and for our children over 3 we are a certified NonPublic School and are eligible for district funding. 

• Infant Stimulation (home-based)
• Fussy baby clinic 
• Center-based early intervention
• Speech Therapy
• Occupational Therapy (Sensory-Integration)
• Floortime (DIR) - funded as Behavior Intervention
• Inclusion Support
• Consultation Services 

 
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