81 - Play Your Way to Success and Development with Theresa Alexander Inman

Where to find Theresa:

TikTok https://www.tiktok.com/@parentcoachtheresa

Website: https://www.theresaalexanderinman.com/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/parentcoachtheresa.alexanderinman/
 

Connect with Samantha Foote!

Website: www.everybrainisdifferent.com

Email: [email protected]

TRANSCRIPT

 This podcast is for parents like you, navigating the world of neurodiversity with love and compassion. I'm a neurodivergent mother of three amazing neurodivergent children and a board certified music therapist. Our mission is to create a supportive space where you feel understood, connected, and inspired.

With practical tips, strategies, and resources, we'll help you and your child thrive in your unique way. Join us as we dive deep into the diverse world of neurodivergent individuals exploring topics like ADHD, autism, dyslexia, sensory processing challenges, and more. We'll cover it all to empower, educate, and uplift both neurodivergent individuals and those who walk alongside them.

Together, we'll create a world where every brain is valued and celebrated. We're excited to embark on this enlightening journey with you. We are your hosts, Samantha Foote and Lauren Ross, and this is the Every Brain is Different podcast.

Welcome to the Every Brain is Different podcast. We're here with Teresa Alexander Inman. She is a board certified behavior analyst. infant, toddler developmental specialist, and a certified autism spectrum disorder specialist who has provided services to families for more than 15 years. Trusa, we're so excited to have you on the show.

Welcome. Thank you so much, Samantha and Lauren. I am so happy to be here. Super excited. Yeah. Can you tell us more about how you're involved in the neurodivergent community? So, I provide services to families. My dream passion, I don't call it a job because a job sounds like something that you don't like doing.

So, I work with families. I train parents to basically help their children meet milestones. It depends on the age, right? Or teach them skills, communication skills, independent skills, just. Social skills, just all the skills, just to help them manage in this world. Because as we know, the world does not accommodate to the neurodivergent population.

It's up to them to navigate and figure things out, which is very frustrating. So, my goal is to just make that a lot easier on parents and the children, young adults, adults that I work with. Yeah. How exactly do you work with them? Like what's your modality? I use a bunch of different things. Nice. Nice. I love that.

I, I always get suspicious of people who are like, this is the only way to do it because it's not. No, no, no. See, I, um, I studied play. So I use play. There's also act, which involves mind, mindfulness. and looking at people's values to really help motivate them to make those changes based on their values, not mine, because it's not about me.

And, uh, my biggest thing, honestly, is play. That's why I also became an infant toddler developmental specialist, because as a behavior analyst, strict behavior analysis is strict. And I like to work outside the blinds. I like children of the color outside of the lines. Just be who you are. And so, because I got a lot of feedback from parents when I go to their home and I would play with their children and they're like, well, you're just playing with them.

Why don't you do a puzzle? Like, your child is three years old and they are not able to talk. They're scripting, they're babbling, they're doing whatever. Play is the best way to teach them. So to validate my, just my thoughts and my ideas, I studied play. So it's like, okay, now I'm a play project specialist.

You've got to listen to me, kind of thing. Or please listen to me, not that you have to. I did that because I wanted to give myself Just more to work with and just basically get the training in the vein that I wanted to go down. Yes, I love that. I love how you talk about play because what else, how else are kids going to learn other than play and like in a natural setting?

Like, yeah, you can sit a kid down at a table and be like, we're going to do this puzzle and then we're going to do this worksheet and then we're going to do this. But young kids, like that's how they learn is through play and that's how they learn all their skills. Yes. And I would have a tangible if you have me sitting at a table working, I was actually, I was the mentoring supervisor for one of the largest companies actually in ABA, just period.

They're all over the world now. But I was there when they first started and I was their first, uh, mentoring specialist, which meant I went to supervise, I'd go and observe other providers. And I remember once going to this home and the Provider was working with a three year old. And she's like, he's running all over the place and but I can't get him to sit still.

I said he's three. Don't try to get him to sit still. And what I wanted to do is flashcards. Okay, first of all, life does not happen at a table. Um, you know, so I said, you know what? Okay, I don't want to take anybody out of their zone. So I said, if you want, if you insisted on working on these flashcards, let's do something different.

Let's take the flashcards and put them under things and behind things and beside things and, and then we'll make, we'll have a race to get to those things. It's like, who's going to get there first? And he ran and I got it and he said, okay, find the duck that's behind the thing. So you're teaching. So many different concepts.

There's that movement, right? Cause children, they need that kinesthetic learning. They need that movement. So, and I say, I don't know, I bounce around a lot. I love it. I do the same thing. So, yeah, and she thought, oh, it was that easy. And I think people try to make it like it should be rocket science, and it isn't.

It's just basically getting into the child's comfort zone. Like, I'll go to a home and the parent's like, well, he's two years old and he's never said a word. And I get there and I'm on the floor rolling around with them. And actually, this one that I'm thinking of in particular, he had a balloon and I Brought the bulim down and then I said up up up up up and I let it go and then I brought it back down I said up up up up up and he said up up up up She's like, oh my gosh, he's never said anything before like he said up up up and I thought that's how you do it You get into the world you get to their level literally get down to their level Look at the child let them know that you see them, right?

Because if you're not at their level, what are they looking at? Right, your ankles, your knees, your belly, that's not giving them any information. Yes, exactly. So that reminded me, I was in music therapy this week with a three year old, and we're working on speech, and we're working on communication, and we're also working on imitating different things.

And so, We were doing the song, the goldfish by Lori Berkner. And I was dancing all around and doing all this stuff. And he was not interested in me. He was really interested in this chair and feeling the chair. He really likes the feel of it. So he was just feeling the chair. And so I got down on his level and I made the fish go on the chair.

And he thought that was hilarious. And then it turned into me chasing him around the chair while we're swimming in the ocean with the fish. And then he actually, the fish would stop and they would go to sleep. And he actually like, he has never imitated my movements before. And he did the movements with me.

And then, and then we're working on like, Or, do you want more or are you all done? And he always says all done, even if he wants to continue doing the activity, he'll say all done. But this time he said, he's like, ma, ma, ma. And he was like making the more sign. And that was the most like, I don't want to say I've ever gotten out of him, but really that's like the most I've ever gotten out of him, the most engaged he's been, the most progress he's made.

And it's because I got down on his level. I entered his world on his terms. And then we were able to make progress. So yes, I love what you're talking about, playing, getting on their level, all of that. Yes. And I'm just going to add to that too, because I'm actually, I supervise behavior therapists. And when I find, when they go into a home, they feel that they have to be working, doing something.

And so scenario, a child comes in from school. It's time to work. It's like, no, play, we're playing. Nobody is working, because play is work for that child. A lot of people at school, what's he been doing all day? He's in kindergarten, but he's been sitting all day. I know, because I worked in the school, and I've worked in several school districts.

And sadly, I saw that too often. I went to the, my district supervisor, and said, listen, these kids, they come in at 8. 20. They work, work, work, literally all day. If they're standing at their desk, I hear, sit down. It's like, he's only standing. He's standing. These chairs are not comfortable. I mean, I'm wiggling in the chair because it's so uncomfortable, and she's sitting on a stability ball, so she's nice and comfortable.

And then everybody else is on these hard chairs. It's like, let the babies move around. Let them do something. And, you know, apparently it came from the principal because when they get tested, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, it's like, and they did not get recess until two o'clock, till 2. 20, dismissal's at 2. 40.

So they worked all day without a movement break, without something, and I thought, no wonder children are not enjoying school. Like, I enjoyed school. I love school, because we got a lot, we had three recesses. And this was up until I think I had three recesses up until, what do you call it, uh, middle school.

Even in middle school, we had recess because we had morning recess, lunch recess, and afternoon recess. And we performed way better. This was not in the United States though. We performed way better because we had those breaks and we got to run around. So, yeah, yeah, there was, I've said this before, but I'm just gonna bring it back up.

There was a study done that, Kids with ADHD perform better than their neurotypical peers when they were allowed to move during a test. And the peers, their neurotypical peers actually performed worse when they were allowed to move. And I'm not saying that neurotypical people don't need breaks, and they definitely need recess and all of that, but I'm saying maybe neurodivergent kids need a little more movement in their day.

And when they want to move, allowing them to move, and even if it's a neurotypical kid who needs to move, like Get them the support that they need so that they can perform the best on their work because we're so There's so many people so concerned about test scores, test scores, test scores. Well, this is how you get better test scores is adapting the education to the kids and I know that it's easier said than done because adapting Like a kid's education to 30 different kids in a classroom is extremely difficult, but we just need to be looking for ways to do that.

Like you said, like, how can we incorporate play into it? How, cause they're five years old, like kids learn through play at that age. And so how can we incorporate play in that? And then when they get home from school, not immediately being like, okay, we need to do your homework. We need to sit at the desk and do these drills.

Just. Play and that's how they learn. Absolutely. Now, you know what though, Samantha, it's really not as difficult because what studies have shown when, so in classrooms, there's tier one, tier two, tier three, right? Interventions. So, at Tier 1, about 85 percent of the students will fall in, they need only Tier 1.

So, they will be sitting and doing their work and doing those things. Then you have your Tier 2, they need a little more modification. They need maybe something added or something taken away. And then you have, and that's about 10%. And then the 5%. Those are the ones that really, the ones, yeah, let him run around, let him do some jumping jacks, let him do whatever.

Let him color outside the box because he's still learning. There are teachers who are amazed when I tell them, leave the child alone and then see what happens. So they leave the child alone, and the child is coloring, or they're walking around, they're doing something, and they ask them a question, and guess what?

They answer that question. Even though they appeared not to be focused, they were still able to answer the question. They, they only appeared not to be focused. They were very much focused. They were doing what their body needed, so that they could regulate. Yes, exactly. I know when my husband was in school, I mentioned this before too, that he has a very high IQ and just average working memory.

And so he, and ADHD, and he said that I could say that, but when he was in school, he would just be doing his own thing. And the teacher actually told his mom that he needed to be in special education because he never paid attention. But then His mom's friend was like an aide in the class and she said, ask him a question, ask him any question about what you're talking about.

And so the teacher did and he answered it correctly. And she's like, but you're not paying attention. But he was paying attention. It's just, he wasn't. He was able to pay better attention when he was doing something else because his mind was going so fast. And so I just think that's important to realize that kids can, yeah, like you said, kids can look like they're not paying attention when in reality they're paying better attention because they're moving their body in the way that they need.

Exactly. And I know for me too, my husband's always, why do you have the TV on while you're working? And I mean, honestly, the TV's on, it's paused. I'm not watching it. It's just on. I focus better when I have a distraction. You know? So, and people think it odd, but, you know, I am a little neurodivergent myself.

Um, maybe a lot. I refuse to take medication. I just thought I could figure it out. I can regulate myself. But I just need, I put my own supports in place. I do what I need to do. And it doesn't look like what my husband, for him, everything has to be quiet. And he has to, you know, so he can focus on the thing.

And for me, I, and then I take a break. It's like, okay, I've got the laundry going, and this happening, and that happening. So I'll start one thing, I'll get, so for an effect, okay, I'm, I'm all over the place. I get things done, like things that really have to get done, they get done. Always, when they need to get done.

However, my brain sometimes takes the circular route to get there. And maybe that's why I understand children who need that movement and need to be outside of that box and not to We say that just like every brain is different, every child is different because every child has a brain and every brain is different.

And we talk about no child left behind. However, there's so many students because of the rigidity of What it should look like in the classroom, which is discouraging to teachers. Don't think teachers are enjoying this. A lot of teachers I speak to, they are so frustrated because they are not allowed to teach.

They, they give children, they give the students things to memorize, which is not teaching. They're not learning to think critically. Like, how often do you hear you have to give the child all of these explicit instructions? Because if you didn't, they're not able to disseminate that information just by looking at it and figure it out.

Because we don't allow them to problem solve, we don't allow them to figure it out, we don't allow them to be themselves. We figure we're trying to get them to fit into this little box, and we're cramming their body parts into this box, and it's not gonna work. Yes, exactly. So if, yeah, I've heard a lot of teachers say that they're very frustrated that they get trained on how to teach and then they're not allowed to actually teach, that they just have to follow the curriculum and do exactly what's been said, and they're not allowed to actually use their skills in teaching.

It's just like, like you said, memorizing. So. Yeah, I could see where that would be very frustrating. Yeah, so I would like to talk a little bit about your book that you have. Um, can you tell us a little bit about that? Okay, so, gosh, Samantha. Um, I'm going down a crazy rabbit hole right now. So what I did, I wrote this book, and this is the original.

How could I help my child communicate? And I looked at it and I thought, Oh gosh, it's a question. It's not solving a problem and the cover looks so sad. This mom separated from her child like the dogs in the age, but that's it. And then I decided, so same book, I changed the cover and the title, right? Nice.

Pathways to early communication because that just made more sense. And the cover's just more, it's just more loving and caring and friendly. So yeah, so people are going so on everywhere except for Amazon. They'll see this cover on Amazon. They'll see that cover. I'm trying to figure it out and straighten it out.

That's what I'm doing right now. However, this book, I wrote it because I work with so many families and I wanted to be available to more families because more families need help and they're not getting it because of the fact that, especially now, because doctors delay diagnosis. Parents are waiting longer and they're not, and their children are meeting milestones later.

And as a result, the CDC actually changed their guidelines, which to me is really tragic. So instead of saying at six months, Johnny, well, now it's like 12 months or maybe even 18 months. And I thought, no, because the sooner the better, which is why I became certified as an infant toddler developmental specialist.

So we can start at zero. That allows me to work with children from birth. So that way we can avoid a lot of these pitfalls. So the book, I wrote it because I wanted to give parents something while they're waiting for this diagnosis. Give them something to do which actually could prevent the diagnosis.

I'm not saying that it will, but it ha I've seen it. Working with children early in life and giving and practicing these strategies. We've seen a lot of children who No longer require extra support, right? And that's how I like to look at it. Actually, and the language is changing. So it's no longer we're trying to move away from high functioning, low functioning, high support, low support, because it's that's all it is.

Right? Because children. They may be functioning lower at one level, but they're way up here at another. So it really doesn't speak to the diversity on the spectrum. Yes. Yeah. And the book really, I've just used a lot of the stories from my practice. Just I've changed the names to protect my client. But it's just, hey, when we were working on this, this was the situation I was presented with.

And this is what we did with little Johnny. And he started talking, or he started walking, and he started playing, interacting, whatever it was. Johnny just started meeting all these developmental milestones, because we put these strategies in place. Yeah, that's awesome. Yeah, they. Everyone says research shows that the earlier you can start working on things, the better and you don't need a diagnosis to start working on the things, but you, it's unfortunate that you do need a diagnosis to get a lot of the help, though, that is.

out there. Like, you have to have a diagnosis for insurance to pay for it. Like, I guess you can get help, but you have to have the diagnosis for, like, insurance to pay for it or Medicaid to pay for it. And that's really unfortunate. So, yeah, if people can read your book and get those things to do in their homes, then they can start working on those things and their child will be even better for it than if they had waited.

Until they were able to get, like, the quote unquote, like, professional help. Yeah. Because parents see things early. They, you know, I work with, um, my, a friend of mine and I, she's an occupational therapist because I like to work with my OT friends and my speech friends because I want to learn as much as I can to give, to do the best I can for the families that I work with.

And so we went to see kids for a couple of weeks to provide services. And one of the moms we met, she said, you know, at six months, I knew. And I said, I'm sure you did, because you know your child better than anyone else. However, the doctors were hesitant to diagnose, because again, he's only six months. And I get it here too, even in the United States.

Some doctors won't diagnose before three. And I think that is tragic, because now it's If you want to look at it from a financial standpoint, It's more, like, it's a more, it's more of a, I don't want to say it this way, but it's more of a financial burden. It costs more the longer you wait. So early on in, I, I think every state, there is, I don't know what they call it, here in Florida, it's called early steps.

Some places call it birth to three. If you are, and I'm speaking to you, parent, mom, dad, caregiver, grandma, whoever you are, aunt, Uncle just everyone if you see your loved one is just not if you're not comfortable with the milestones that they're meeting or the fact that they're not meeting milestones do something now don't wait and i don't care what your doctor says because so many families have come to me And they've said, well, at two years old, I told the doctor and they didn't.

And at three years old, I told the doctor and they didn't. Now my child is four, and there's so many things that we could have done. That, and the parents don't know what they don't know. Right? They trust. These professionals, so it's really up, it's up to parents to really advocate for their children. Go with your gut feeling, if it's telling you that something is just not feeling the way that you expect it to, do something, say something, and get a 10th opinion if you have to.

Don't stop until you do, because your child deserves that. And so the difference is you get the help now and your child will be able to take care of themselves or you don't get the help and you will take care of your child for the rest of your life. Yes. Yes. I know all three of my kids went through the infant toddler program, which is what it's called here in Idaho.

And I don't even know how I found out about it. I think it was just like at the hospital, they said, here's an evaluation that you can fill out every three to six months about your child. And then. We'll assess it. And then if they need some extra help, then we'll come in and do an assessment in person.

And so that's how I got hooked up with the program. And all three of my kids went through it and it was fantastic. They were working on speech. They're working on developmental stuff. And all three of my kids got diagnosed with autism and they were all late talkers and they were just able to go through that program.

And I could see, in fact, one of the. Developmental specialist. She's the actually the one that caught my son's tongue tie. The, and his doctor said, Oh no, he doesn't have a tongue tie. And I'm like, well, I'd like a referral to an ENT just in case. And so we went to the ENT was like, Oh yeah, it's severe. Like he has a severe tongue tie and they clipped it.

And as soon as they did that, he was just talking, talking, talking. I couldn't understand anything he was saying because he hadn't developed it, but I am so grateful for her that she noticed that. Cause I honestly think that he would still be non speaking at the age of eight because his tongue tie was so severe.

So I am so grateful for the infant toddler program. And yes, to parents like. You can fill out the evaluation, even if you don't think there's anything going on, because like you said, they don't know what they don't know, and so they ask questions, and I, like, there are some things that are like, oh, is my child supposed to be doing that right now?

I had no idea, and I'm trained in child development, so there's just some things that, that I forgot, but yeah, so definitely, parents, check that out. We will have, Um, some information about that in the show notes for people to check out. And then, yeah, are there any other resources that you would recommend to parents?

Right. So there's that birth to three or again, whatever it is, gosh, there's so many. I actually hesitate though with that beyond going to your early intervention people because every child is different. Like their parents who go down these rabbit holes, listening to podcasts and doing all these podcasts are great.

Listen, I have a podcast podcast. However, every child is different. So it's like they try to put, like I was introduced to a family on Monday. So, Mom's been trying all these things and she listened to all these podcasts and she was like, nothing's working. Like, because your kitchen's sinking, your child doesn't need everything.

Your child just needs just a couple of, you know, you, for you to change a few things because it always starts with us. Yes. You changed a few things because we model for our children what we want them to imitate. And if it's talking, when they're blah, blah, blah, oh my goodness, no way. Are you kidding? We're talking back to them.

We're interacting with them and just showing, modeling for them what that should look like. So. Yeah, so it's really important that they talk to someone. And like you said, with your infant toddler person, your early intervention specialist, they needed to see your child and spend time with your child and get to know your child to see all these things.

So it can be so overwhelming, overwhelming for parents when they, when I listen to this and I do this and I do that, and there's just so much, it's all good information. Or you don't need all the information, your child doesn't need all the things. So for that, I hesitate. There is one though, there's one podcast that I would say though, it's called the language of play because I love play and she's amazing.

I've actually been on her podcast and she's all about playing and having fun and just giving some really good tips. That's awesome. Yeah. And I agree, like, if you're trying to do everything, nothing's going to work. So pick, pick a couple things and go with that. And then if it doesn't work over time, then you can always change, but give it, I worked with a mom once who is constantly changing things like every two or three months, she'd be like, well, this isn't working.

And I'm like, well, progress is slow. We need to like. Give it a little bit more time. So yes, I completely understand that. Well, thank you for coming on the show today. We have a couple more questions. Where can people find you online? So online, actually, I just started, I recorded my first episode of my new television show.

Wow. Awesome. On the spectrum and it's, they can find it on Roku and Apple TV and just all of those streaming stations. So E360 TV. So yeah, there my website is theresa alexandra inman.com. And on Facebook I'm at Theresa Alexandra in Income. In Income. Inman . Oh gosh. And, and I've actually started a new Facebook page with parenting on the spectrum, but that's still very new.

So yeah, just my goal is just to give parents as much information as possible. And again, I don't want to overwhelm everybody with anything. But like you said, though. Samantha, just try one thing, right? It's just like trying to figure out if your child has an allergy to something. You're not going to give them everything.

You're going to take away all the things and then slowly introduce one thing at a time. So try one thing at a time. If that one thing doesn't work, then you may have to tweak it. It doesn't mean you get rid of it. You may just need to tweak it for your child. And then if after you've tried it for a while, it doesn't work, then you can continue and add something else.

But it takes time. There was one family I worked with, he wasn't babbling at all, he was two years old, and not making a sound, not saying anything. And after about six months, I mean, here he is talking in sentences, but it took us, it was a progression, he didn't all of a sudden start, but there was a progression.

So he went from nothing, to, and being, for everybody being consistent, applying the strategies, and now he's talking, asking questions, and just having conversations. It takes consistency, but you can't keep changing, changing, changing and expect, it's just like putting a seed in the ground and uprooting it because it's taking too long and then you put it back in and then you take it out.

Like it's not going to work. Yep. Yep, exactly. I love it. Okay. Our last question is what do you do for fun? I talk. I love it. I love this. I love sharing my passion with people. I also like reading and sleeping and taking walks. That's awesome. Uh, we are the same. I love talking to people. I love it. Well, thank you for coming on the show.

We really appreciate your time and all the goodness that you shared with us. Thank you ladies so much. It's been my absolute honor to hang out with you. It's always nice when you would like mighty people. Yeah, yes, yes, exactly. Well, thank you.

Okay, Lauren. What were the highlights? Oh my gosh. I love her. I love her energy. Uh, I love when I see a VCBA lean towards more of getting creative and being outside the box and, and really focusing on that play because like you said, that is how they learn. And I, I feel like sometimes so many times we hear like, it's just like very rigid and strict and sit at the stable and that's.

That's not how life, like, like she said, life doesn't happen on the table. And so I loved that. I also, and I have tried to make a conscious effort to be better at this. Moving away from that terminology of low functioning and high functioning and moving to, they need more supports or less supports. And so I appreciated that little reminder, just.

For myself, really. Yeah, I saw a video this morning that said they are learning that the autism spectrum is not linear. It doesn't go from like low supports up to high supports. It's more circular. Where they like, I have issues in this area. I have issues in this area. And like she said, like you might have amazing social skills and then you might need more support in your.

Motor skills or you might need more support in your emotional skills or communication, but like There's there's not it's not just linear like there's a box. Yeah, there's other things Yes And so you're not like down here where you're having trouble with like all the things and then up here You're having less trouble with all the things.

It's more like Like, I have trouble in this area, in this area, but I'm great in this area. And so it's, I loved how they presented it as it's more circular. It's not linear. And that just made so much sense to me. Anyway, continue. Love it. So I really appreciated that. I, I could rant about this. I'm gonna try my really best, but like.

Again, like teachers not being able to, like, teach, like, we're trying to, like, just sit at a table, memorize this, and there's, like, no critical thinking, and as someone that is working with new hires that are coming in, it's very clear that that is. Because they, if they're not given explicit instructions, like they can't, they can't figure things out and then they stress out and then they don't know how to cope because people have been doing things for them and protecting them.

And so you're not helping the children when we do it that way. But I, I liked how she said, like, uh, We, uh, were parents and I've, I've said this before, uh, we can't change people. We can teach people. We can only change ourselves. And so as a parent, you don't know what you don't know, learning, starting young, change what you need to do so that you can teach your child to be successful.

And you got to start early and don't, you don't have to wait for a diagnosis to start, to start implementing things and trying things and stuff like that. So I really like that. Yeah, I liked what she said about not having to have a diagnosis. That's why I started the Parenting with Confidence program.

That's why I started the NeuroDivergent Parenting Community, because I want to give people resources while they're waiting. For the diagnosis or before they even like contact someone for a diagnosis, just if you're, if you think your child is neurodivergent, if they're having issues in these areas, if you're having issues with parenting in these areas, then join the Parenting with Confidence program.

It's, I want it to be a lower cost option than going to like therapy that will cost so much an hour. Just give parents that resource before they get a diagnosis and are able to get other resources. So yeah, so go check that out if you're interested. It's just, it's go at your own pace for the parenting program and you can just watch the modules and then you can meet with me twice a month to get all your questions answered.

And so I am hoping that that will be a resource for parents who are waiting for Diagnosis because I was just talking to someone last night and they said they were referred to a clinic here in Idaho to get a diagnosis and the waitlist was two years. It's just insane. And that like can you imagine the difference between like a two year old to a four year old.

And then a lot of times they go in and they're like, well, we have to wait and see. No, no, I'm sorry. But if you even think that a kid has autism or dyslexia or ADHD or whatever, just give the kid the diagnosis and then they can get the resources that they need because without that diagnosis, they cannot get the resources that they need.

And then if People say they grow out of it or whatever, but if they don't need those resources and they get older, that's awesome. Then they don't need that support, but you are denying them resources. If you even think they might have it and then don't get it. Yeah. And it's being denied at like the most like critical age of being able to teach in and things like that.

And again, the younger, the better. The veteran and yeah, and it's just gonna be a bigger toll later on. It's gonna take longer. So. Yeah, so there's my rant for this week, but we appreciate everyone for listening. We will have her resources in The show notes will have our resources in the show notes Let us know what you think of the podcast give us a review if you'd be so kind and share it with a friend Thank you everyone for listening this week and have a good week Thank you for listening to this episode.

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