EP. 30 | The Cost of Late Intervention

Could you be missing crucial developmental milestones for your child simply because intervention came too late? Join us in today's heartfelt episode where we share an emotionally charged story of a mother's six-year struggle to get her child evaluated for developmental delays. We underscore the profound impact of early intervention during the critical period from birth to age five, and why timely access to speech, occupational, or physical therapy can make all the difference. Listen as we stress the importance of proactive parental advocacy during pediatric visits and highlight the emotional costs for children who do not receive the support they need in time.

In our second half, we tackle the real-world challenges parents face in accessing essential therapies for their children. We introduce an innovative program that bridges the gap by connecting parents with experts remotely, enabling them to apply effective strategies at home while waiting for in-person appointments. You'll learn about the mission of Glow Pediatrics, which is dedicated to providing virtual evaluations and support to families more efficiently. Remember, as a parent, your role is vital—reach out for support and know that you are not alone on this journey. Leave your questions in the comments, and let's navigate this together.

Listen to the full episode on your favorite podcast platform and check out the video version on our YouTube channel!

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Episode Transcript

Dr. Hokehe Eko (00:00):
Hello everyone, how are you today?
So I talked to a mom a few daysago and she had a child that's
about nine years old and she'sbeen waiting for an evaluation
since the child, or she's beenasking for an evaluation since
the child was about three yearsold.
That's a long time.

(00:20):
So she feels that her childpossibly has autism.
Her child has been strugglingin school.
Her child is being moved to thenext grade even though she's
not doing well in school.
She is not getting the help sheneeds because she hasn't gotten
an evaluation.
And it made me really, reallysad, because here's this child,

(00:44):
no fault of her own, who simplyjust needs additional support in
school, but she's unable to getthe additional support in
school until she gets a medicaldiagnosis, and so on.
So many levels.
It hurts, it's not right and wecan do things better.
And so that's what I wanted totalk to you today about the cost

(01:08):
of late intervention in ourchildren's lives.
And so, before we talk aboutlate, I mean the story I just
told is an example of a lateintervention.
This child has been waitingsince she was three for an
evaluation and has not gottenone.
But what's early intervention,right?
Early intervention you hearpediatricians talking about it.
It's the time between when thechild is born until the age of

(01:33):
five thereabouts, because that'sa time of really rapid brain
growth.
And so if you're going to makechanges, be it in terms of
speech, in terms of physical, ifyour child has difficulty with
their motor skills or movement,that's the time to make changes.
If your child has difficultywith pine shoe laces, for

(01:54):
example, or even using utensilsto eat, that's a good time to
get your child in occupationaltherapy.
If your child is not saying theappropriate amount of words or
speaking and articulating insuch a way that a stranger can
understand, for example by agefour, then your child needs
speech therapy, and I mean evenbefore.

(02:15):
Then, when you go for your18-month and 24-month visits,
it's important to tell yourpediatrician really what's
happening, and I know often youmay go into the pediatrician's
office and they feel rushed orthere's not enough time.
But I advise parents keep alist of the things that bother
you, of the questions that youhave, so when you go into the

(02:36):
office you can articulate thoseto the pediatrician, because
nobody else knows your childbetter than you do.
You're your child's firstadvocate.
You're the most importantadvocate knows your child better
than you do.
You're your child's firstadvocate, you're the most
important advocate for yourchild, you're your child's first
teacher, and so it's importantto keep track of the concerns
you have and bring it all,because if your pediatrician

(02:59):
does not necessarily ask you,maybe they will say how's your
child doing?
And if you say fine, they'regoing to think everything is
well with your child, right.
So it's really up to us asparents to articulate the
concerns we have for ourchildren.
And you know, if you have thatgut feeling in your tummy and
you feel like something is justnot right, something most

(03:20):
probably is not right and it'simportant for you to bring it up
, or at least let's, let's makesure, let's see your
pediatrician check and make surethere's nothing, and so then
it's fine.
But it's better to not ignorethat gut feeling that you have.
And so that's why we talk aboutthe importance of early
intervention between the ages ofzero to five, so that your

(03:44):
child can get the best support,best help that they need to make
changes in whatever is going onwith your child, especially in
terms of if you're thinking yourchild may possibly have autism.
Important to ask for help first, early, because it definitely
makes changes.
So, like the story I was tellingyou when I first started

(04:05):
talking, this child isdefinitely not doing well in
school and unfortunately shekeeps getting moved up to next
grade even though she's notdoing well.
And can you imagine the amountof emotional, what she feels?
Emotionally, because childrenknow more than you think they do
they have.
They're intelligent.
They know more than you thinkthey do they have.

(04:25):
They're intelligent, they knowmore than you, they understand
how people may perceive them,they can see the stares, they
can hear the talking, theyunderstand right.
And so the best thing you cando for your child is is find a
way to get the help your childneeds and not have to wait six
years, because it's definitelygoing to be detrimental to the

(04:47):
growth of your child in everyway emotionally, physically and
all of that.
And I'm sure, as a parent too,it doesn't make you feel good
that your child is strugglingand there's really nothing you
can do to help your child.
So, but you can.
It's not true that you don'thave any resources, because it's

(05:08):
important to keep asking.
If you've talked to your doctorabout your concerns and your
doctor is not addressing yourconcerns, please do not feel bad
, go and get a second opinionand keep asking for help until
you get the help your childneeds.
And that's really why I startedGlow Pediatrics, because I
found out in my state ofOklahoma there was a two-year

(05:30):
wait list and I knew that wascompletely unacceptable, because
it's so critical to get helpfor your child early.
And so that's why I startedGlow Pediatrics, so I could be
of service to parents and tochildren, especially to help get
them the start that they needin life.
And so that's why we also haveexpanded to other states

(05:52):
Maryland, georgia, minnesotawe're in Oklahoma, of course,
and just providing the help thatchildren need.
We're doing virtual evaluations,meaning you can sit in the
comfort of your home and get theanswers that you need, so that
you can go to your schooldistrict and get the help that

(06:13):
your child needs.
And even beyond that, I love totalk to parents who maybe you
see your child and your child ishaving trouble sleeping and
your child is not eating welland your child spends so long in
the bathroom and they'rehurting.
And have you noticed that ifthey are constipated, that their

(06:34):
behavior worsens?
Look out for that the next time, because if your child has been
diagnosed with autism and yousee them rubbing their tummies
against a piece of furniture oragainst a chair or a hard
surface, that's a big indicationthat they're in pain.
They may not be able to tellyou, but their behavior will

(06:56):
indicate to you that they're inpain, and so not be able to tell
you, but their behavior willindicate to you that they're in
pain, and so you do need to gethelp for your child that's
chronically constipated or childthat's chronically has diarrhea
, because it could be the otherway right, and so that too is
not typical.
Having chronic diarrheadefinitely want to get your
child the help that they need,and so we're here to help.

(07:18):
We're here to answer yourquestions.
If you have any concerns,questions, you're seeking an
evaluation for your child, evenif we're not in the states where
you are, reach out to us, andwe are actively adding more
state licenses.
And so reach out to us and letus know, and we will give and
speak to you at no cost, andjust figure out where we can

(07:42):
help you or figure out who inyour states we can point you to
to give you the help that youneed for your child.
And so how do you contact us?
Great question.
Our phone number is405-871-5807.
We are found on the website.
We have a website, www.
glowpediatrics.
com, and so if you're lookingfor compassionate, excellent

(08:07):
care for your child, look nofurther.
Contact us and please sharethis with your friends and
families who may need help withtheir children.
And even if you're just sayingI just need to learn more, right
, we're starting a programcalled Ask the Experts, where
we're going to gather theexperts like speech therapists,
occupational therapists,physical therapists, aba

(08:29):
therapists, nutritionists thewhole nine years.
We're going to gather them andyou have access to ask them
questions and to learn from themwhat you can do at home while
you wait for the evaluations,while you wait to get into
speech therapy, becauseunfortunately, depending on your

(08:51):
state, there could be a waitright After you get the
evaluation.
Now there's a wait to get intospeech.
There's a wait to get intospeech.
There's a way to get intooccupational therapy, and I'm
trying my very best to addressthose areas of need and concern.
And so that's a program we arestarting come next week where we
can put you in front of theexperts before you can

(09:13):
physically go see them foryourself, so you can start
learning what to do with yourchildren at home, and so if you
have any questions, please leaveus a comment and we'll be sure
to answer, and I hope this washelpful.
Again, I always remind parentsremember, you're the best parent
for your child and you're notalone.
We are here to walk thisjourney with you, so please

(09:34):
reach out and have an amazingday.