Question: Why is it important to seek early treatment for my child's developmental delay when he/she will be in public school (kindergarten) in a couple of years?

Answer: The key to effective treatment is to target any delay as soon as possible.  The longer the wait, the harder it may be to treat.  In addition, children from birth to age 5 have minimal activites going on during the day.  Compare this to when the child is in school and has to deal with learning new material and interacting with other kids.

Question: My child has a developmental delay; doesn't the public school system HAVE to provide services for free for my child?

Answer: Yes, public schools are mandated to provide special needs services during the school day, but it doesn't stipulate HOW MUCH has to be provided to your child.  Unfortunately, staff, space, and other resources are stretched thin to handle the growing need of children with developmental delays. Statistics have shown that 30 percent of all children suffer from some type of learning disability.  In other words, let's say your child is in a kindergarten class of 20 kids, so that amounts to 6 kids.  If there are six kindergarten classes, that amounts to 36 kids.  How much dedicated therapy can your child expect to receive on top of learning what his/her peers are learning in the classroom?  This also leads to the matter of group sessions, and not the individualized attention that your child may surely benefit from.  Stone Oak Therapy Services and Learning Institute specializes in learning disabilities on an individualized treatment basis.

Question: Do you diagnose and treat dyslexia?  How early can a child be treated for dyslexia? 

Answer: Yes, Stone Oak Therapy Services & Learning Institute does have the capability to diagnose and treat dyslexic children.  It is difficult for a pediatrician to diagnose dyslexia because it is a learning disability and not a physical condition like the measles that can be determined with a medical test.  Many parents believe that if their child reverses his/her letters (such as p and q and d and b), then the child must be dyslexic.  However, the age and educational background need to be taken into consideration.  Children who are just beginning to write and read their letters often confuse the letters with one another.

Our intake packet is highly comprehensive in order to evaluate the child’s medical history.  This can rule out any other issues that may actually affect the child’s development.  For example, some parents are relieved to find out that the primary reason a child does not read and write well is because their child has poor eyesight.  A simple eye examination can reveal the need for corrective lenses, and thus, dyslexia treatment is not necessary.

If dyslexia is indeed suspected and depending on the child’s age, our assessments for dyslexia include a battery of tests to measure receptive and expressive oral and written language, visual perceptual, fine motor and cognitive skills.

A child must have adequate proficiency using and understanding oral language prior to being tested for dyslexia; this is typically around 7 years old.  In children as young as 5 years old, we can assess oral language and pre-reading skills, such as phonological awareness, word finding, sound-symbol association, rhyming decoding, and blending skills.

For more information concerning dyslexia, please visit www.interdys.org

If you have a question about our services or your personal situation, e-mail us at 2home@stoneoaktherapy.com and we will use the best ability of our educators and/or clinicians to answer it for you.