Many preschool children are slow to speak and have difficulty communicating.

Teachers advise parents to take their children to see a doctor. Many children are diagnosed with developmental delays, autism spectrum disorders...

20 MONTHS OLD BUT CAN'T TALK YET

At 3 p.m., Mr. Hoang (name has been changed) hurriedly arranged the papers on the table, rushed to the kindergarten to pick up his 28-month-old son and took him to an educational intervention center according to the appointment schedule. For the past few months, in addition to sending his son to school like his friends, 6 days a week, 1 hour a day, he has also sent his son to 1-on-1 classes with a specialized teacher.

Nhiều trẻ mầm non chậm nói, khó khăn giao tiếp - Ảnh 1. — A preschool child receives early intervention and studies at an inclusive preschool in Ho Chi Minh City.

"When my baby was 20 months old, he still couldn't speak like many other children in the neighborhood. He liked to play alone, didn't interact, didn't look back when called by name, and didn't look into his parents' eyes when talking. My wife and I went to Ho Chi Minh City to work, and left him in the countryside with his grandparents. They sent him to a kindergarten in the countryside, but he didn't integrate with his friends. Seeing something was wrong, we took him to the Children's Hospital in Ho Chi Minh City for examination, and he was diagnosed with mild autism spectrum disorder," said Mr. Hoang.

Mr. Hoang and his wife took their child to the city to live with them, and regularly took their child to an educational intervention center every day following the doctor's advice. Recently, when they learned about a kindergarten in District 3 that had an inclusive education model, where children studied the general curriculum with their friends and had a specialized teacher tutor their child for an extra hour each day, Mr. Hoang registered his child. At home, the couple spent more time playing with their child following the exercises the teacher instructed.

"Specialized teachers record videos of them playing with their children, teaching them activities so that parents can watch and play with their children at home. The most important thing I realized is that parents should accept their children, be patient, persevere, and love them a lot to accompany them," the father said.

INCREASE THE NUMBER OF CHILDREN RECEIVING EARLY INTERVENTION

Master Nguyen Thi Cam Dan, owner of Tay Thanh Kindergarten system (Tan Phu and Binh Tan Districts, Ho Chi Minh City), said that before the Covid-19 pandemic, the whole system had 3-5 children receiving educational intervention. After social distancing, the school reopened and now the number of children is 21.

Track your child's developmental milestones

Master Vuong Nguyen Toan Thien, a psychologist at the City Children's Hospital, advises parents to monitor their child's developmental milestones according to their age, such as language ability, social interaction ability, motor ability, cognition, independence, etc. For example, if a child does not interact, does not make eye contact, does not say the first word at 18 months, or is 3 years old but cannot walk steadily, or has behavioral abnormalities, the child should be taken to see a doctor immediately.

At the same time, when seeing children with one or more signs in the following 4 groups, it is also necessary to help the child go to hospitals with mental health specialties such as City Children's Hospital, Children's Hospital 1, Children's Hospital 2, Thu Duc Hospital, Vinmec Hospital, University of Medicine and Pharmacy Hospital, Counseling and Psychological Therapy Department of Ho Chi Minh City University of Social Sciences and Humanities, Hoa Sen University:

- Children always have abnormal, negative thoughts such as I am a failure, I am worthless, I do not deserve to be loved.

- Children have strong, excessive emotions that are not appropriate to life events, such as prolonged sadness or anger over something, overreacting, affecting their studies and life.

- Children have abnormal behaviors such as fear of going to school, coming home from school and crying alone, little interaction with people, self-harm, using stimulants, and dependence on the internet and games.

- Children have symptoms of abdominal pain, headache, shortness of breath, fatigue... even though specialist examinations do not detect any disease.

Ms. Phan Thi An, Principal of Kindergarten 6, Vo Thi Sau Street (District 3, Ho Chi Minh City), said that in 2020, there were 12-15 children receiving educational intervention at the school. Currently, this number is 32 children.

The owner of a private kindergarten in Thu Duc City (HCMC) also told Thanh Nien reporters that since 2022, when schools reopened after the pandemic, more children have been advised by the school to have their parents check their physical and mental health because they saw abnormalities such as slow speech, lack of concentration, difficulty in learning, and behavioral abnormalities.

Master Vuong Nguyen Toan Thien, a psychologist at the City Children's Hospital (Binh Chanh District, Ho Chi Minh City), also said that based on his direct observation, after the recent epidemic, the number of parents bringing their children for psychological examination and intervention has increased. They can be divided into two main groups. First, children with developmental disorders (autism spectrum disorder, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder - ADHD, language disorders, behavioral disorders, intellectual development).

Nhiều trẻ mầm non chậm nói, khó khăn giao tiếp - Ảnh 3. — A child with a speech impediment is supported by a teacher.

The second group is children with psychological disorders, stress, anxiety, obsessive-compulsive disorder... often found in children of primary school age and puberty.

"Previously, many people believed that the cause of developmental disorders in children (including autism) was due to vaccinations, and then due to parents not raising their children well. This is completely wrong, science has disproved this," said Master Thien.

"The Covid-19 pandemic and its losses affect mental health in many ways. However, there is not enough scientific evidence to confirm this because the Covid-19 pandemic has caused more children to need educational intervention. Maybe during the social distancing period, parents could not take their children to the doctor, and now they can take their children to the hospital for a check-up. At the same time, parents' awareness is also increasing, so they should proactively take their children for a check-up, comprehensive health assessment and intervention when there are more disorders," said Master Thien.

TAKE YOUR CHILD TO THE HOSPITAL FOR A CHECK-UP EARLY

Mr. Hoang Ha, manager of the Hanamiki Counseling and Integration Support Center, said that recently, the number of parents in preschools who recognize their children have special needs and proactively seek intervention programs has increased. Children brought to the center have common symptoms of language and communication difficulties, not being able to speak, not speaking clearly, not being able to talk to friends, not being able to participate in learning with teachers and friends...

The second group is children with abnormal behavior, such as throwing tantrums, hurting themselves, hurting people around them, running around restlessly, not sitting still, wandering alone, or biting friends...

"There are many reasons why children have these symptoms. Parents should not guess on their own but should take their children to hospital specialists for examination and accurate conclusions. The child may have autism spectrum disorder (autism), or simple speech delay, or hearing loss (deafness), vocal cord problems or language disorders, or intellectual development disorders, or psychological problems, or the child has no need to communicate...", said Mr. Ha.

Mr. Ha said that when children and parents have special needs, the center will observe, screen, collect information, discuss with parents, and advise parents to take their children to see specialists at major hospitals.

From these conclusions, if the child really needs educational intervention, teachers at the educational intervention center will base on many aspects to build an individual educational plan for each child. (continued)

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