Securing comprehensive therapy services for a child with autism, developmental delay or is challenging – especially when you’re put on a waitlist. In South Florida, waiting periods for ABA therapy can range from a few weeks to more than year. But parents are not powerless in the interim. In fact, there’s a lot you can do with this time – and you don’t need to struggle doing it alone.

Fort Myers parent coaching (aka behavior consulting) from the FOCUS ABA Therapy team provides strategies specific to your child and your family while you wait for an open time slot for therapy. This could be help with addressing a specific behavior concern, working on global communication skills or just promoting your child’s overall well-being and development. Being proactive in this way could possibly even minimize the length of time your child needs therapy in the long run.

Florida Pediatric Therapy Waiting Lists

If you child is on a pediatric therapy clinic waitlist for ABA therapy, speech therapy or occupational therapy in Southwest Florida, you’ve already taken several big first steps:

• Acknowledging a possible developmental issue
• Talking to a pediatrician
• Getting specialist referrals
• Undergoing evaluations.

Then you’re told your child needs therapy services, but the wait for an open time slot could be weeks or even months.

Now what?

Recent data paints a challenging picture of pediatric therapy access – and it’s not a just a Florida problem. According to a 2023 report by the American Academy of Pediatrics, wait times for developmental and behavioral health services have dramatically increased, with some families experiencing delays of 6-12 months for comprehensive evaluations and interventions. Florida in particular has seen a 38 percent increase in developmental screening referrals over the past two years, creating unprecedented pressure on therapy resources.

But here’s the most important message for parents: Waiting doesn’t mean waiting passively.

How Fort Myers Parent Coaching Can Help

Fort Myers parent coaching from our Board-Certified Behavior Analysts (BCBAs) can help bridge the gap – even if your child is on a waitlist with a different clinic. Our behavior consulting can help parents address take action to make the most of the time you spend on the waitlist and address any immediate concerns that may be impacting the well-being of your child and possibly the whole family.

The amount of physical and neurological development that occurs in early childhood is astounding. The window of time between birth to age 5 is especially critical. So the few months or more that your child spends on a waitlist could set your child back even further. It’s more time they have to catch up, and also more time for challenging behaviors to become more ingrained. Unfortunately a lot of parents find out later that they’re unintentionally reinforcing the exact behaviors they’re trying to prevent. Undoing that can take time.

Our BCBAs work with parents 1:1. We help them develop individualized strategies that can be incredibly helpful while you’re waiting out the waitlist.

Some of the common child behavior issues we can help parents work to address right away:

• Major tantrums
• Aggression or self-injurious meltdowns
• Defiance or non-compliance
• Social skills
• Communication skills
• Potty training
• Sleep training
• Trouble with routines
• Adjustment disorders

Our behavior consultants provide in-person individual assessments, which can be conducted at your home or at our Fort Myers clinic. From there, we’ll develop a personalized plan with specific strategies to help you address your most significant concerns. We’ll provide you with in-depth insights into what may be driving your child’s behaviors and how best to respond so that you are equipped to provide effective positive reinforcement.

Follow-up assistance can be as much or as little as you need – whether that’s a quick phone call/email check-in or a lengthier in-person consultation a few times a month. Although insurance is unlikely to cover the cost, we do offer competitive self-pay rates.

The Power of Parental Involvement

Even if you are not a professional, you are not parents. In fact, parents the single most important teacher in a young child’s life. And there are many strategies we can teach that you can start right away to minimize problem behaviors and support your child’s development.

Research consistently demonstrates that parental engagement is a game-changer in child development. A landmark study published in the Journal of Developmental & Behavioral Pediatrics found that children whose parents actively participated in therapeutic strategies showed 2.5 times greater developmental progress compared to those receiving services alone.

Meaningful involvement looks like:

• Observational learning. This is about taking the time to understand your child’s unique communication and interaction patterns. You may keep a simple journal or just mental notes on situations your child finds challenging, moments of joy and connection and/or specific behavior triggers.
• Making the most of everyday moments. Most ABA therapists will tell you that everyday moments (mealtimes, bath times, errands, playtime) are some of the most best intervention opportunities because they are recurring (and thus, familiar and safe) and the child gest many low-pressure opportunities to practice.
• Environmental enrichment. We can help parents create a plan to set their child up for success. Every child is different, but that could involve establishing predictable routines, creating designated calm spaces, minimizing sensory inputs or certain triggers, creating simple social stories and/or using visual schedules to provide structure and clear expectations. Any or all of this could go a long way toward making progress on some of the most significant behavior issues while you’re waiting to start ABA, speech or OT.

We believe that waiting for comprehensive therapy services doesn’t mean waiting without purpose. You are your child’s first and most important therapist. By staying informed, engaged, and hopeful, you’re laying a strong foundation for your child’s developmental journey. Our Fort Myers parent coaching ABA therapists can help!

FOCUS offers ABA therapy, ADOS testing, and behavior consulting to children in Lee County, Florida. Call (239) 313.5049 or Contact Us online.

Additional Resources:

Developmental Surveillance and Screening Patient Care Overview, American Academy of Pediatrics

More Blog Entries:

Why In-Clinic ABA Therapy Outshines At-Home ABA Therapy: Insights from a BCBA