Parents should consider many of the issues below when a diagnosis for your child. 
1.  A diagnosis can assist in getting the correct treatment for your childs' specific problems.
2.  A daignosis can lead to attainment of financial assistance necessary to attain treatment.
3.  Some parents weigh the advantages of treatment verses the disadvantages of a child having a label of a diagnosis at a young age.
4.  Parents often consider the benefit of treatment verses the stigma the child might have as a result of the diagnosis. 
5. Parents might consider the fact that labels at a young age can be overlooked in the future once the behavior problems are resolved and the child is behaving appropriately in school and at home. 
6.  The long term costs of not treating a child with problems should be considered. It may cost thousands of dollars a year to care for a child with a disability or other diagnosis. The dollar costs should be considered.
7.  In addition to monetary costs parents might consider the social costs to the family as well as society. The family unit can easily be disrupted with a child with behavior problems. It can affect the marriage of the parents as well as people in society they are exposed to at stores, school, church, banks or even the grocery store. 
8. Finally, the child himself may have a lifetime of problems if his problems at an early age are not addressed with treatment.
The above are just a few of the things to consider in deciding whether to see a doctor or specialist and possibly receive a diagnosis as a young child. 

http://archive.weinetwork.com/shows/BrainMatters/Brain%20Matters022614-LindaMeckler-Azarin.mp3

When your child reaches the age of 16- 18 parents start to hear from others that it is important to proceed to attain adjudication if this was not done yet.  Parents can attain the paperwork to do this or information from a social worker or online generally.  When the child is a minor the parent is automatically the guardian but once they become an adult this must be established in the courts.  There are many things to consider when you are thinking about whether to purse guardianship and competency for your child. The following are some of the important things to consider in making this decision.
1.  The first issue is that if your child remains competent as an adult he may be subject to any punishment that adults receive for his behavior in the community. Usually the consequences legally for adults are more severe then for a child that has not  been adjudicated incompetent and has a parent as a guardian. 
2.  The issue of guardianship has become very visible in the newspaper recently in the past 10 years and there are alot of support systems in place at this time to help parents accomplish this legal procedure.  For example, there are some pro bono, legal aide  or lower rates that may be available if you consult with a lawyer specializing in this area or with a social worker.  In the past people often can attain assistance from lawyers as "pro- bono" or from other sources based on their salary.
3.  There are different types of adjudication and guardianship. For example, there is one type of guardianship which is only over medical decisions and this may be attained at a lesser cost.  Parents may want to start out with guardianship over medical concerns and later attain full guardianship over other areas for their adult child. 
4. If any medical issues come up the parent as a medical guardianship can make these decisions.  For example, if your child is told by the doctor he needs a feeding tube the parent will have the right to decide when this might be done or whether the risks outway the benefits to your child and discuss this with the doctor. Without the guardianship procedures may be done without input from the guardian of the medical issues.
5.  Guardianship and adjudication may affect certain benefits your child can receive and parents should consult with the support co-ordinator or social worker for information regarding the financial implications.
6.  Funding and budgets in the future may include the legal status in decisions about eligibility for benefits.
7.  Parents should consult with doctors, social workers, lawyers and legal aide professionals and research in books or google to make a definite decision about guardianship and adjudication. 
In general, guardianship and adjudication should be pursued to protect your child's health, welfare, financial benefits and avoid legal problems for the future of your child. 

Parents and Caregivers often have a series of activities in the evening scheduled for their child. They might wonder why with all these wonderful activities they still have terrible behavior problems and non-compliance. The simple act of changing the order of the schedule and what day the activities occur on can completely solve all the behavior problems. One example is the use of television in your daily schedule for your child. If television time is given freely when they get home from school they may not have appropriate child's that evening. In contrast, if you move the television time to after they complete accurately the homework you may see a dramatic improvement in the speed and accuracy of the homework. Parents and caregivers should examine the schedule after school carefully  with the behavior analyst if possible to determine the best times to place each activity with your individual child since each child has different reinforcers. 

Parents or caregivers might consider the following in choosing a chore for there child.  
1.  Consider the physical abilities and limits of your child. If the chore involves lifting something heavy or using alot of motor movements that the child cannot do easily it will be difficult to motivate them to do the chore. For example, if you want the child to put things away on a high shelf or use a heavy vacuum this should be considered. You might want to purchase a lighter vacuum that does not have a cord in order to make the chore easier and more likely to be preformed. 
2.  The parent should consider the mental or intelligence level in choosing a chore. If you ask a child with a low IQ or to clean his entire bedroom this may be overwhelming and it may not occur. In contrast if you ask the child to put the blanket on the bed and pick up the blocks this may be easier. Giving him simpler chores may be easier for the child to accomplish and to motivate him to do on a daily basis. 
3.  The task should be one that the child might enjoy. Try to match his preferences or reinforcers with the chore. For example a child that likes sensory reinforcement may enjoy the water while washing the dishes. Another example is a chore such as serving guest lemonade may be enjoyed by a child that likes social interaction and praise! 
4.  The parent or caregiver should consider the long term goals for the child in choosing a chore. For example, if the child goals is going to be living with with his natural family (rather than  in a home or a group home) maybe try to choose tasks that are useful to the other people in the household with tasks such as cooking.  If the child is trying to learn a trade for the future making some money for himself perhaps a chore such as washing cars would be useful and he could later work in a car wash. If the child is going to try to work on the computer in the future perhaps helping the family by printing coupons for groceries' will help to develop the skills needed for a job with computer work. 
Generally, all of the above factors should be considered in choosing a task for the child. The caregiver or parent should try to find a task that the child can do, that is enjoyable for the child, that is physically and mentally possible to do and finally that fits in with his long term goals and dreams for the future. This type of chore will be more useful to teach him/her and more likely to be consistently performed by the child. 

Behavior therapist frequently use adaptive equipment during training and later if possible fade out the equipment.  For self-care skills training they might use a small potty for the child to make it easier to sit initially during training. For eating skills a built up spoon, plate or non-skid mat might be used. Adaptive equipment can be attained from catalogues, online or with the assistance of occupational therapy. Later after the skill is accomplished some of the adaptive equipment can be adjusted to other sizes and gradually faded out. 

Activities such as walking, riding a bike mike also start with training using the adaptive equipment and as the person learns the skill it can be faded out to the next least restrictive assisstive device. Children with developmental disabilities often have some motor skills problems as well. Motivation to overcome the disability can sometimes result in fading the device partially, fading to less restrictive devices and discontinuing the use of the device completely or just using the device for more strenuous longer activities. 

In choosing which exercises to work on first more frequently in a child with poor motor skills and aspirer or autism one should think about the functional skill deficits of the child. If a child is having difficulty using a fork or spoon then sports or leisure activities that emphasize the hands may be beneficial since you will be strengthening these muscles and movements.  Exercises that stress the lower body are also beneficial but if the priority is to develop self-care skills that require more dexterity then he as the fine motor movements should be emphasized. Some leisure activities such as using an iPad may also improve fine motor skills. 

Finally, one should also consider forks or spoons for example that are easier for the child with motor problems to use. Considering the selection of equipment and leisure or sports activities can be important in promotion of more rapid learning of self-care and daily living skills in children with both motor and Autism or  Attention problems. 

Behavior Therapist often use music as part of their treatment plan. In past years music therapy was funded by organizations more often.  Soon they started fading out funding for this type of therapy. Many clinicians and parents were disappointed by this fading of the service. Often facilities or caregivers would incorporate music therapy in the recreational therapy which was covered.  Currently, music is used predominantly in Behavior therapy and recreational therapy. Parents and caregivers should let the recreation or behavior therapist know if their child enjoys music as a reinforcer. 

Behavior therapist do a functional assessment which includes a reinforcer survey. If music is determined to be a reinforcer it is very helpful as a part of the behavior plan informally or formally. Often the behavior therapist will use music as a replacement behavior or just as a learned or acquisition skill with the program.  If the child enjoys the sensory reinforcement of the sounds or use of their arms to manipulate items a musical instrument or device can be very effective.  The  child can also receive an extrinsic reinforcer for playing the instrument. Finally, the behavior therapist may teach the child to play instrument using other reinforcers such as tokens, edible reinforcers or social praise.  

Some examples of using music to replace behavior include drums for sensory reinforcement including the sound and the vibration. Another example is using radio stations that are preferred on a headset to provide sensory reinforcement if the child likes that type of music. Music might be also scheduled during the day as relaxation for children that are aggitated or aggressive.  In addition learning a new instrument may result in social praise and attention when the child plays the instrument.  

Music can be utilize by the behavior therapist in a variety of methods. One method is to have the child play the instrument. A second method is to have the child play music on a radio, stereo or on earphones. Headphones are especially practical and easy to use with contingencies of the program.  The headphones are practical because you can use them in any location such as when going to a doctor appointment, in the car, at work, and on the bus.  Some instruments can be played outside or in a private room if they disturb others or headsets can be used with some instruments. The therapist or caregiver can put the headphones on easily when the child is displaying good behavior based on the targeted goals for behavior.  Music can help the therapist to create a positive environment for the child even during non-preferred activites.The result is an increase in compliance and decrease in inappropriate behavior.  As people often say music can make the world go round. 

Parents often struggle with thinking of what to do with their child with special needs (ex. autism spectrum) after he receives his diploma from high school. The following is a review of some of the options they might consider. The caregiver should way the short term and long term benefits of each option for their individual child and themselves.   

One option is to place them in a day program with activities. A second option is a workshop setting. Some workshops are "stand alone workshops" and some you can pay or get funding to attend even though they are part of 24 hour living facility. A third option is to try to attain employment in the community either on their own or with the assistance of supportive employment.  Supportive employment can be arranged and often the child is sent for evaluation in order to determine the best type of job for him. Another alternative is to have some job arrangement which can be performed in the home such as data entry, phone calls or other jobs in the home. 

A sixth alternative is to continue the childs education at  Community college or technical school where he can attain credentials or certificates for a job.  A seventh alternative is to enroll him in a job for special needs persons such as programs with plants or animals. Some job programs are geared toward hiring only special needs persons.   There are a large number of other alternatives. Parents will benefit by dreaming with the child about an ideal job that utilizes skills the child has as well as having reinforcing activities or items the child will enjoy.  This "brainstorm" session might include other professionals or friends and will result most likely in a more peaceful and fulfilling life for your child. 

Clinicians are often presented with physical symptoms that suggest medical involvement during assessment or intake.  The first thing that therapist should consider doing is to recommend that the parent or caretaker immediately or as soon as possible follow-up on a medical issue. The medical issue should be ruled out and addressed by the parents in order to treat the client effectively with behavioral treatment.  Some examples of medical issues might be something as simple has hearing loss or ear infections. There is a large body of research and talks at conferences about the relationship between hearing or ear problems and diagnosis such as autism or other developmental delays or diagnosis. There is a large body of research regarding other medical problems such as blood pressure, diabetes or low blood sugar, constipation and the resulting behavior problems that may occur.  A thorough physical or a specialist such as an otologist may be a good recommendation. If there is a strong reason to believe that a general physical may not be sufficient then an expert in the problem such as an otologist or cardiologist might be something for the caregiver to consider in order to completely rule out the medical origin of the behavior.  However, even if there are medical causes of a behavior one can still treat the problem with non-restrictive behavioral procedures. Often the behavior problem has both medical and behavioral causes that are revealed in the functional assessment. Therefore both behavioral and medical treatment can work together to resolve the issues and the child can look forward to the possibility of achieving a normal life without behavior problems!