| Developmental Disability includes Autism, Asperger's, | | | | maybe 5% to 10% might have had these kinds of |
| PDD-NOS and other diagnoses. Developmental Delay | | | | difficulties, but I do not think it amounted to 1/3. |
| includes ADD, Learning Disability, Dyslexia, and more. | | | | What is a developmental problem? |
| Then there is GDD and Central Auditory Processing | | | | Quite simply, it is some blockage in the developmental |
| Disorder, and I don't know where they fit in the official | | | | process. All living things move through a life cycle. |
| structure of diagnostic labels, but I know they are a | | | | Much of the early phases of that life cycle are spent in |
| developmental problem. | | | | maturing. From inception to maturity, all living things |
| I have been working with children with developmental | | | | move through a series of milestones. For us humans, |
| difficulties for a few years. I use the terms | | | | we refer to these as our developmental milestones. |
| developmental difficulties to encompass everything | | | | For children with developmental difficulties, they do not |
| from Developmental Disability to Developmental Delay, | | | | move through their milestones appropriately. They get |
| and even more. In our consulting program we consider | | | | stuck at some of the milestones. They miss some |
| them all fundamentally the same. They differ only by | | | | milestones. So, many of the elementary learning |
| level of intensity. We have created protocols which | | | | processes needed for appropriate maturity, are |
| work with all of the developmental difficulties. Our | | | | skipped. And, in some cases a child is unable to move |
| program unlocks your child's suspended tendency for | | | | forward in a milestone and does not move forward on |
| growing up. | | | | to the next developmental milestone. |
| How big is the problem? | | | | In my opinion, all of the unique diagnostic labels are |
| All of these developmental difficulties add up to an | | | | related to some elementary elements. In which |
| estimated 28 million children in America. The Census | | | | developmental milestones did the child get stuck or |
| Bureau tells us there a total of 85 million children in | | | | which milestones did the child lose? How intense is the |
| America. The APA (American Pediatric Association) | | | | 'stuckness?' And, how many milestones did the child |
| tells us that one in every six children have a diagnosis | | | | lose? |
| for some developmental problem (16.7%). The different | | | | What can be done about it? |
| associations for all of the individual diagnostic labels of | | | | All of the different diagnostic category associations in |
| developmental difficulties all agree when they estimate | | | | the field of developmental difficulties are clearly |
| that about half of the children with these problems | | | | speaking on one voice when they say that the 1) |
| obtain a diagnosis for their problem (that makes it one | | | | developmental process is blocked and that 2) there is |
| third). And, 33% of 85 million is 28 million children. | | | | no cure. |
| That means that one third of all the children in every | | | | Clinicians in this field do not know what to do to cure |
| classroom have some level of developmental problem. | | | | developmental difficulties. Nothing that they try affects |
| Maybe it shows up as a lack of capacity to attend or | | | | the developmental process. For decades clinicians |
| sit still. Maybe it shows up as a lack of capacity to | | | | have tried everything they can think of to do and |
| learn writing. Maybe it shows up as a lack of | | | | nothing works. |
| coordination. Maybe it is so severe, the children never | | | | After all these frustrating years, they have finally |
| learn to connect to the context. Maybe it is mild and | | | | agreed with each other that there is no cure. And, now |
| only an inconvenience to the children and the parents. | | | | it is officially agreed. All of the diagnostic associations |
| In whatever form, developmental difficulties seem to | | | | and all of the committees creating the diagnostic |
| be growing in percentages. We are certainly getting | | | | specifications have agreed that there is no cure. Now, |
| more precise with our diagnoses. And, we are certainly | | | | they spend all of their research dollars on finding |
| advanced as a culture so that we offer those | | | | causes instead of developing solutions for 28 million |
| diagnostic services to more families who otherwise | | | | children with these developmental difficulties. |
| could not afford it. But, I am not sure this is the reason | | | | They have tried many things, but they have not tried |
| we have 1/3 of our children with developmental | | | | everything. |
| difficulties. | | | | With our program children plug the empty places in |
| When I was a child in school, half a century ago, I do | | | | their developmental process. Our program unlocks |
| not remember 1/3 of the children having these types | | | | your child's suspended tendency for growing up. |
| of difficulties in my classrooms. I remember that | | | | |