Developmental Delay

D. try First steps of Illinois. You can look them up online. They have a little of everything. My son Jack is 18 months and he doesn't attempt to talk. First Steps is helping him at the moment. It's a 5.00 co-payment. But I know they have everything for Developmental delays. Let me know if you need help getting a phone number. The one I have is for First Steps of Indiana.

D.
check out the Early Intervention Program. You have probably already rec'd this advice, but it is called CHild and Family Connections here in IL and you can call 1-800-323-4769 to have someone come to your house to do some assesments, etc. they work with ins and if you have none or services are needed and not covered, they have a reasonable sliding scale, etc b/c ths is a govt pgm.

also, my older daughtyer, now 27 mo old did not walk until she was 16 mo. just up and took off one day without warning, lol. But you are the mom and if you are concerned, get it checked out. Have you talked to your ped about it? She or he should have referred you to EI if so.,

anyway, good luck!
J. Sipchen

Hi- I live in NJ, but I can fully relate to your concern. My son did not walk until he was 18 months- he actually never even crawled. My husband & I took him to evaluation after evaluation, only to tell us that it was hereditary (my mom & my brother did not walk until around this time also. I just wanted to say, hang in there!

Hi Darcy,
I am a social worker and worked with kids who were developmentally delayed for 8 years. In terms of resources, you have a few- Head Start, Easter Seals, and your local school system all will provide a developmental screening for your daughter and then recommend therapy for her if needed. Otherwise, you can go to a private agency or therapist for an eval. depending on your ins. coverage. My friend is an OT therapsit, and works in the city, but I'll have to e-mail her for the name of her agency for you if you think that's the route you want to go- let me know.
Good Luck-
J.

Check with your local school district. In Wheaton, our school district provides speeach therapy to children who are not yet school age-and it is free.

Hi
I have a friend who used this service. See below. She really liked it. Hope this helps. :) Trine

4 therapists ( occupational, physical, speech/language, psychological) will visit your home and conduct interactive play sessions to determine if therapy is needed. they make the diagnosis right after the session and talk very openly with the parents. zoe loved the one-on-one attention so much that she didn't want them to leave.
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for precautionary purposes
should anyone need this service,�contact them at 800.323.4769.
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Hi - a friend of mine in Chicago had to start developmental therapy for her daughter. I asked her who she used and she gave the following advice. You can email me at ____@____.com if you have any questions.
Amy's message: "The developmental therapist we use is through "Early Intervention"--it is the state's program. I know that there are also good therapists at Children's Memorial. I can ask our Dev. therapist if she can recommend someone. Tell me this though, did the pediatrician recommend a therapist? I ask because if the child is assessed by the state and they decide it is necessary, it could save the family a lot of money. The state uses the same therapists as Children's Memorial and other reputable places."

If you don't get any referrals, try a local Bright Beginnings program for referrals. They are usually administered by the county and do developmental screenings until school age. They would have all of your local information and would even be able to help with insurance/payment issues...

Dear D.,
My son was a 26 week preemie and had physical therapy once a week for 2 years from Sue Buckley, she is now in private practice. I have already listed her under Pediatric Physical Therapist, however, she is based in Downers Grove. My daughter is currently in speech and occupational therapy, so we have been through a lot of evaluations. The state offers a program called Early Interventions for children under the age of 3, they take care of children from birth to 3, when your school district will take over therapies. They will send out someone to evaluate your child, and then set you up with the proper therapy/care. A word of caution, they will charge you a "Family Fee" that is based on a sliding scale based on your household income - I believe it will cover the cost of therapy - and it is supposed to pay your insurance deductibles and co-pays if you use private therapy - please thouroughly review the costs up front, therapy, even if covered by insurance can be costly after copays and deductibles. We do not use Early Interventions anymore because we spent less money paying our deductibles than the $200 per month family fee because we are in the highest income bracket according to them. There are so many options with therapy, they can evaluate your daughter in home, or at the clinic, they can give her therapy at home or in a clinic setting, we have done both, my children payed more attention in the clinic setting. Another thing, it is VERY hard to read an evaluation of your child - they will grade your child at the lowest level possible in a category to qualify your child for the most benefits available. It's very painful as a mom to hear those things about your precious child, I have cried many time after a review of the evaluation. Your pediatrician should know about Early Interventions, or a good therapy clinic nearby (we go to Therapeutic Interactions in LaGrange - a far drive for you). You can also contact Helping Hand or Easter Seals, they provide pediatric therapies. Be your child's advocate, if you don't feel comfortable with a therapist's approach, make them explain it to you, if you still feel uncomfortable, get a new therapist. We have had a few bad experiences with our daughter and changed therapists, and the change in her was clear. (We never had a problem with Sue, she is truley a wonderful person and therapist). I hope that I haven't overwhelmed you with advice, I just wish I know some of these things when I started taking my son to therapy 4 years ago. Please feel free to contact me if there's anything else I can do.
S.

I've used two different resources. One, privately funded is North Shore Pediatric Therapy. I went there because my then almost 3 year old needed an OT evaluation for sensory issues. I recently had my 5 month old twins evaluated by Child and Family Connections, a state funded program for kids 0 to 3. It's a full evaluation (speech, OT, PT, health and developmental) and they come to your house. If they determine a need, services are mostly covered by the state. I've pasted the info below.

Where on the north side are you? We're near Clark and Foster with a 4 y.o boy and 5 month old twin boys.

Here's the contact info: Child & Family Connections
Rush-Presbyterian
St. Luke�s Medical Ctr.
IL Masonic Medical Center
836 W. Wellington Avenue
Chicago, IL 60657
773/296-8080
773/296-8081 Fax
CFC Manager: Melissa Lane
800-289-7990 *Cook County Chicago North
(including following Zip Codes)
60610 60611 60613
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60639 66040 60641
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60657 60659 60660