My Child Isn't Even 3 Years Old Yet and Was Just Diagnosed with ASD - Now What?!

You need to attend to 3 things.

Education

You do not need a medical diagnosis to be evaluated and receive Early Intervention services, but if your child has a diagnosis please seek these services out! This may mean another evaluation, this time an educational evaluation, which is free. Contact your local county education center to begin this process.

• Pennsylvania: CONNECT Helpline at 1-800-692-7288
• New Jersey: Regional System Point of Entry at 1-888-653-4463
• Delaware:
  • Child Development Watch at 1-800-752-9393
  • New Castle County at 302-283-7240
  • Kent and Sussex Counties at 302-424-7300

If your child qualifies for Early Intervention services, you will help to create an Individualized Family Service Plan (IFSP) that will specify the services your child will receive.

Read more about education for children under the age of 3 in the CAR Autism Roadmap™. Visit the Education page and use the filters on the left side of the screen to choose "Age - Birth to 3." In particular, you may want to begin with the following articles:

• Infants and Toddlers Early Intervention Basics
• Early Intervention Eligibility
• Early Intervention Evaluations
• Your Child's Service Plan: IFSP Basics
• Pennsylvania's Early Intervention System
• New Jersey's Service Delivery System for Children Under Age 3 with ASD
• Early Intervention in Delaware

Behavioral Health

Consider your child and if a behavior program can support his or her learning. If a child has interfering behaviors, he or she is likely not able to take advantage of the education program, therapy instruction, etc.

Behavioral health programming varies from state to state.

Pennsylvania offers specific health insurance to cover behavioral health services at no charge for those children who qualify. For some families, employer-provided family health insurance may cover these services. Read the following article to learn more:

• Obtaining Wrap Around Services for Your Child

New Jersey shares the responsibility for this support between the schools and the Office of Developmental Disabilities. Contact your local school district or seek more information from:

• Autism New Jersey

Delaware supports children with behavioral needs through the state education system and with support from Autism Delaware. Contact your local school or seek more information from:

• Autism Delaware

Read more about behavioral health on the CAR Autism Roadmap™. Visit the Healthcare & Treatment page and use the filters on the left hand side of the screen to choose "Specific Therapies - Behavior."

Medical Health

Most children are followed medically by a primary care physician, usually a pediatrician or a family practice physician. Your primary care physician can help you determine if an appointment with a medical specialist may be indicated. Medical specialists can treat symptoms that may contribute to some of the difficulties your child may be having.

The following articles within the CAR Autism Roadmap™ may be helpful to you:

• Next Steps after receiving an Autism Diagnosis - video
• What is the Difference Between a Pediatrician and a Developmental Pediatrician?
• Who are All These Professionals?
• Clinical Genetics Evaluation
• Co-Occurring Conditions or Co-morbidities
• Speech, Language, and Communication
• Occupational Therapy for Children with ASD
• The Role of the Pediatric Physical Therapist for Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder

The rest is optional!

Take a breath and think about yourself and your family. How are you doing? There is no right way or wrong way to feel. Sometimes this diagnosis feels overwhelming, sometimes very doable. It is most important to remember that your child is the same loving, adorable, wonderful child he or she was before getting the diagnosis. The label simply puts language around the symptoms you were worried about, and now a plan will be put in place to treat those concerns.

The Center for Autism Research (CAR) offers Next Steps workshops for families of individuals with a diagnosis of Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). In particular, you may be interested in attending Next Steps for Families of Young Children. The schedule can be found on the Events Page of the CAR Website. We welcome you to attend. In the meantime, you may find the following articles helpful:

• How Should I Feel?
• Finding Support from Friends and Family after a Diagnosis
• All These Appointments! All This Paperwork! How to Stay Organized
• Grandparents Have Feelings Too!