幼儿发育迟缓和早期干预

 幼儿发育迟缓和早期干预是一个沉重的话题, 但又不可回避. 身为父母,都不愿意自己珍爱的小宝贝有什么不好的事情, 也不愿意相信自己的孩子在某些方面比其他孩子差. 有的父母就是因为这样的心理原因, 即使觉得自己的小宝贝有些不对的地方, 也不愿意寻求帮助和咨询, 而耽误了最佳的早期干预机会, 影响孩子终身的生活和幸福. 

在我们中国的文化范围内, 因为面子因素或者其他一些原因, 人们不愿意客观正面地谈论孩子发育迟缓的问题. 有的时候周围的人为了避免人际关系产生影响, 即使发现谁家的孩子有发育迟缓的问题, 也会安慰父母说, 大一点就好了. 甚至举XX人的例子来说明, 有的父母听了这样的安慰, 也就回避给孩子直接的诊断和评估, 而决定"等等看".  美国儿医协会提醒父母们, 在面对孩子发育迟缓的问题上, "等等看"是最糟糕的做法.

加州政府支持的"earlystart"计划告诉父母们, 孩子最初的五年非常重要, 这个时候孩子的大脑还很"plasticity", 可塑性很大, 早期的干预和帮助可以让很多孩子的发育重回正常轨道, 保证他们的将来可以容入学校和社会生活. 但是五岁以后, 这样的帮助和干预可能收效甚微.  统计表明, 即使对于已经确定为自闭症的孩子, 如果能在三岁以前开始干预, 有50%的孩子将来可以独立正常地生活和学习.

根据医疗研究成果, 从1990年开始,美国联邦政府建立了"early childhood intervention program" 来帮助一到三岁的孩子, 不管他们是有残障或者是某方面的发育迟缓, 父母都可以寻求帮助. 该机构甚至告诉父母, 不必要等到孩子被确诊以后才开始早期干预. 当发觉孩子比同龄孩子在某些方面发育迟缓的时候, 或者孩子没有达到某些发育里程碑(milestones)的时候, 父母就是在和时间赛跑, 即使你不想孩子被立即诊断, 也可以尽早开始寻求早期干预.


儿童发育里程碑(0-3岁)

At age one month most children can...

• Raise their heads slightly when lying on their stomachs
• Briefly watch objects
• Pull away from a blanket on their face

sit up when prompted At age three months most children can:

• Lift their heads and chest while lying on their stomachs
• Make cooing sounds
• Follow a moving person with their eyes
• Smile back at someone

At age six months most children can:

• Sit with minimal support
• Roll from their back to their stomach
• Respond to their name by looking

At age 12 months most children can:

• Pull themselves up to stand and take steps with hands held
• Follow with their eyes in the direction that you are pointing
• Start a game of peek-a-boo, imitate clapping hands, point to show you something
• Say two or three words on a regular basis

At age 18 months most children can:

• Walk backwards
• Walk down stairs holding an adult's hand
• Use words and gestures (like taking you by the hand) to get needs met
• Perform simple pretend play like talking on the phone, feeding a stuffed animal

At age 24 months most children can:

• Kick a large ball
• Describe an injury or illness to an adult (bumped my head)
• Show interest in other children by offering them a toy or taking their hand

At age 32 months most children can:

• Pretend to be an animal or favorite character
• Talk about the past/future
• Answer "what", "where", and "who" questions easily
• Imitate drawing a horizontal line after being shown
• Hold a crayon with 3 fingers

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