"If it had been discovered early, my child could have been different..."
Ms. Diem Chi (40 years old, living in Ho Chi Minh City) discovered that her son had unusual signs when he was 24 months old. At that time, the doctor only said that I was slow to develop my language, told me to come home to play with my child more and send me to kindergarten, she said.
But just a few months later, the child still had no progress, no eye contact, no reaction when called out. When the child turned 3 years old, I took him to Bac Ninh and then to the Hospital in Ho Chi Minh City, both places concluded: autism spectrum disorder, Ms. Diem Chi recalled.
From then on, she embarked on a difficult journey. From one center to another, from one specialized intervention class to the "brain detox" courses on social networks, she tried them all.
She said The online teacher said the reason was due to heavy metals in the brain, saying that I had to eat coconut oil, seaweed, juice vegetables... I believe, I have been working for several months. But I still don't say anything, just get less active because I'm... tired and hungry.
After nearly a year of no results, she stopped following and moved to other centers. Each place has a method, each lock costs more money, there is a place to teach children to recognize colors even if they are not ready to recognize them. Spending hundreds of millions, but still stagnating. Looking back, Ms. Chi regretted: "The price I knew for early intervention, my child had another chance.
In the same situation, Ms. Thu Ha (name changed in Ho Chi Minh City) said that when her child was 2 years old, the family saw that the child had unusual signs, was slow to speak, and had little communication. Since then, for many months, she has taken her child everywhere, from a children's hospital in Ho Chi Minh City to a general hospital, but all received the same conclusion: "The child is just slow to speak simply".
Believing the doctor's words, Ms. Ha let her child attend language intervention courses. They all follow the straightforward teaching direction, so I think I am doing the right thing. But in fact, my child is not just slow to speak, my child is autistic, Ms. Ha shared. It was not until the child was 3 years old, after many examinations and confirmation at Children's Hospital 1, that she knew for sure that her child was autistic.
At that time, I was shocked and started to find ways to heal my child, she recalled. Ms. Ha also said that she has participated in many groups of parents online, following popular methods such as "detoxifying the body", "healing with nutrition", even limiting vaccination and completely cutting off animal venom.
I followed a girl on Facebook. She said autistic children were "poisoned" by being vaccinated and eating cow's milk. At first, I found it reasonable because reviewing the review was very real, I heard many parents say their children are improving, Ms. Ha said. However, after nearly a year, she realized that her child had not improved as expected.
Need for an inspection mechanism for intervention centers
According to MSc. Le Thanh Xuan, Head of the Linguistic Therapy Unit - Hospital 1A, the decisive factor for the success of early intervention is the support of parents.
"A hour of treatment at the center is not enough. Parents are your children's true teachers. In 1A, we instruct parents to observe, play and intervene with their children in class, so that they can continue to practice at home, affirmed MSc. Le Thanh Xuan.
She believes that the model of parents studying together is the difference between effective intervention programs and commercialization models. Many parents listen to advertisements, taking their children from one center to another, which is expensive and the results are not sustainable. When arriving at the hospital, most children had passed the golden stage.
Currently, there are more and more private centers growing, but not all places are guaranteed expertise.
According to MSc. Xuan, a qualified center needs to meet four factors: Have parental training; Allow parents to participate in therapy hours; Instructions on how to practice at home; There is close coordination between staff and family.
"It is time for an inspection mechanism and practice certificate issuance for centers and teachers in this field. Otherwise, the most disadvantaged people are still young people, when development opportunities are lost just because parents choose the wrong place to live, emphasized Master Xuan.
