You Know Your Child Best

If something about your child’s communication, behavior, or development feels different, trust that feeling.

Early signs may include:

• Not responding to their name
• Not answering/responding when spoken to.
• Limited babbling or talking for their age
• Difficulty understanding directions
• Limited eye contact or interaction
• Trouble playing or engaging with others

These signs do not automatically mean a diagnosis.
But they do mean it’s time to learn more.

Step 1: First, Rule Out Hearing Loss

Start with a hearing test (audiogram). Those are performed by audiologists, and even a mobile hearing test clinic that might be free in your community. Your pediatrician can refer your child for a hearing test, and all health plans including Medicaid pay for this assessment.

Why this matters:

• Hearing differences can look like communication delays
• You cannot assess language without understanding hearing
• This step must come first

Step 2: Seek a Developmental Evaluation

If hearing is normal, ask your pediatrician for a full evaluation and developmental screening.

This may include:

• A psychologist (learning, behavior, development)
• A speech-language pathologist (SLP) (communication)
• An occupational therapist (OT) (daily function and access)
• Other specialists if needed

This evaluation looks at your child as a whole.

What Professionals Look For

Even without a specific diagnosis, professionals assess:

• How your child communicates (or attempts to)
• How they understand language
• How they engage with others
• How they play and learn

The goal is not just a label; it’s understanding how to support your child.

How Allied Health Support Works

Professional support is about more than just a label; it is about understanding how your child interacts with the world and providing the tools they need to thrive. Even without a specific diagnosis, professionals assess how your child communicates, understands language, engages with others, and learns through play.

Speech-Language Pathology (SLP)

Focus: Communication

An SLP helps your child:

• Express wants and needs
• Understand language
• Participate in play and conversation

Tools may include:

• Pictures or communication boards
• Sign language or gestures
• AAC (communication devices)
• Simple routines like “my turn / your turn”

Communication is more than speech.
It includes any way your child connects.

Occupational Therapy (OT)

Focus: Daily life participation

OT helps your child take part in:

• Playing
• Learning
• Socializing
• Self-care

OT may support:

• Sensory needs (sound, movement, textures)
• Motor skills (hands, posture, movement)
• Attention and engagement
• Changes to the environment

The “Uno” Analogy: How They Work Together

Imagine your child is playing a game of Uno:

• OT helps your child sit, hold cards, and stay engaged
• SLP helps your child understand rules, take turns, and communicate

Both are Allied Health Professionals covered by most insurance and Medicaid. While school-based services focus on educational goals, private services focus on health and medical needs to meet developmental milestones.

Understanding ADLs vs. IADLs

• ADLs (Activities of Daily Living): Fundamental self-care tasks (bathing, eating, dressing) required for basic survival. These are often the first skills impacted by developmental conditions.
• IADLs (Instrumental Activities of Daily Living): More complex tasks (managing money, shopping, transportation) needed for independent living.

Understanding Services: School vs. Medical

Both SLP and OT are Allied Health Professionals reimbursed by Medicaid and insurance.

• In School: Services focus on education-related tasks and academic goals.
• Outside School: Services focus on medical and health needs to meet developmental milestones. This impacts ADLs (Activities of Daily Living, like eating/dressing) and IADLs (complex tasks like managing tools or transportation).

The Goal: “Person-First” approach

When support is done well, learning feels natural and progress happens through connection. Your child has a right to:

• Communicate in ways that work for them (SLP).
• Participate in age-appropriate activities (OT).
• Be seen and supported as a whole person—not just a diagnosis.

The Doogri Approach: Building Connection First

We believe in an alternative to “fixing” problems; we focus on connecting with the child first.

• Interests as a Bridge: We use a child’s favorite topic to build participation. Withholding an interest as a “reward” creates compliance; sharing it creates connection.
• Relationships over Rewards: Engagement grows through meaningful interaction, not behavioral conditioning.
• Rights of the Child: Your child has the right to communicate in ways that work for them and to be seen as a whole person, not just a diagnosis.

We are an autistic-led non-profit. We provide a curriculum as resources for autistic adults. We ask that parents engage autistic adults in their community in a working contract. The adult will act as a peer support specialist to your child. They will introduce cognitively enriching topics and develop a working relationship with your child as a partner in their identity development. 

A “Person-First” Philosophy: Interest as a Bridge 

At the heart of all these therapies is a fundamental shift from a “problem-first” approach to a Person-First Approach. In this model, the specialist does not need to identify a “deficit” to begin support. Instead, they enter the child’s world through Cognitive Enrichment.

• Validating Interests: A child’s deep interests, whether they are fascinated by numbers, specific languages, or a favorite character, are treated as valid, meaningful, and central to who they are.
• Connection Over Compliance: We believe that when a child’s interest is withheld or used only as a “reward” for doing work, the interaction becomes compliance-driven. However, when that interest is shared and celebrated, the interaction becomes relationship-driven.
• The Interest as a Bridge: Rather than making a child “earn” what they love, we use what they love as a bridge. This builds rapport, establishes trust, and facilitates a meaningful entry into any activity.

“Some approaches treat what your child loves as something they have to earn. Our approach uses what your child loves to connect with them and help them engage.”

By using a child’s natural passions as the foundation for development, we aren’t targeting missed milestones as a behavior problem. We are building their identity and ensuring their right to a meaningful, self-directed life. Continuing from that person-first philosophy, we can see how the shift from “compliance” to “connection” changes the very nature of learning and growth.

From Rewards to Rights: The Story of the Interest 

To understand this shift, consider a child who is fascinated by car brochures. Under a traditional, compliance-based model, that child might be told they can only look at their brochures after they finish a difficult task, such as a math worksheet. In that scenario, the child is simply holding out for the reward; they often “hate” the activity itself and are merely performing to get to what they actually value.

In our approach, we integrate the interest into the educational encounter itself. The car brochures aren’t the prize at the finish line; they are the vehicle for the journey. We use them to talk about colors, to practice fine motor skills by turning pages, or to facilitate social exchange. We laugh about the names manufacturers give to cars, and ponder the meaning of the car logos. When interest is essential to the activity, the child isn’t just “working”, they are engaging.

Upholding the Rights of the Child

This shift is rooted in a fundamental belief: your child has inherent rights at this stage of their development.

• The Right to Access (OT): In terms of “occupation,” your child deserves to meaningfully access age-appropriate activities. It is their right to play, learn, and exist in spaces that are adapted to their needs.
• The Right to Support (SLP): In terms of communication, your child is owed the professional obligation of support. They deserve the tools and skills necessary to make an interaction meaningful.
• The Right to Peer Support (PSS): Person-centered and individualised, using lived experience to provide empathy as a support mechanism, to manage life’s natural and developmental stressors, and emotional regulation through cognitive enrichment.

Inherently Rewarding Participation

When these supports are in place, we no longer need to “engineer” motivation through external incentives. Participation becomes naturally rewarding. To ensure this child-centered, person-first philosophy is protected and standardized across the field, there is a growing movement toward advocacy and structural reform within the professional community. Supporting a child’s right to meaningful participation requires a workforce that is equally supported and empowered to maintain professional integrity.

What Should You Do Next?

✔ Get a hearing test (audiogram)
✔ Request a developmental evaluation
✔ Ask questions and stay involved
✔ Learn strategies you can use at home
✔ Connect with professionals who see your child as a whole person