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
www.lemontreefcc.com
LemonTree Family Child Care and Preschool
Santa Clara/Sunnyvale
Lemontree.familydaycare@gmail.com
408-2062724
