Managing developmental disorders is not like treating malaria or an infection. Unless there is some form of miracle, it requires long term management plan. In developed countries, the government and other well-funded Charities step in to give some form of respite to parents. This is not so in developing countries.
In Nigeria, taking care of children with disabilities is very expensive, as well as being mentally and physically demanding. I have observed that after a few years, many parents get tired of making payment to therapists because their expectations are not met. When you ask some parents about their expectations, they are most likely looking for a cure.
Depending on the severity of the child’s disability, no sane therapist will promise a parent that he can cure the child – either through therapy, surgery or drugs. Any medical personnel or therapist that does that is desperate to collect money.
In some cases that I have come across, when the parent has spent money for about 2 -3 years and they don’t get their desired result, which is a cure, they lose hope and stop all the efforts they put into the child’s health. I have been called to speak to a family where the father threatened to kill the child because after two years of spending money, the child was not healed.
Do children with developmental disorders get better? Definitely, yes. However, it depends on the level of the severity of the diagnosis and early intervention (getting the right help for your child at an early age). With the right tools, skills and management a child can get better but a cure is never guaranteed.
Does that mean that a parent should not do therapy for the child because there is no guarantee for a cure? No, therapy is important. Apart from looking for a cure, therapy ensures that it doesn’t get worse. The diagnosis will not change but it can lead to other complications.
For example, a child with cerebral palsy needs physical therapy to improve joints, muscles, flexibility; helps to prevent dislocation and also to prevent the muscles from wasting away. This is apart from managing the specific diagnosis that is peculiar to each child. However, the best therapy will not cure cerebral palsy but it will definitely make the life of the child better. The same thing goes with other therapies such as speech, occupational, hydrotherapy, etc.
What can a parent do to access therapy for the child? In the case of a child that requires physiotherapy, the parent may choose from the list below.
1. Employ a personal physiotherapist
2. Pay a special needs school or an inclusive school to provide the services
3. Take the child to a government hospital
4. Look for a Charitable organisation that provides therapy at reduced rates
5. Learn the exercises and do it for your child at home.
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