How to build a plan and choose a specialist

Main thesis right away. A support plan is not "to collect the most therapies." It is to pick 3-5 goals that really change life right now and find specialists who help work on them.

This text is a summary of all the previous ones. How to build a plan, how to choose a specialist, what to avoid.

Interdisciplinary model

The best support for a child with ASD is not "one big specialist." It is a team.

• Doctor (pediatrician, psychiatrist, neurologist as indicated). Medical questions, co-occurring conditions, medications if needed.
• Speech therapist. Speech, language, communication, AAC.
• Occupational therapist. Sensory processing, daily skills, fine motor, environment adaptations.
• Psychologist or behavioral specialist. Emotional regulation, behavior, skill learning, functional analysis.
• Educator or IRC. Educational route.
• Parents. Not "passive observers," but key partners. This is a principled point. WHO emphasizes: parents on the team, not "recipients of instructions."

Not all these specialists are needed at once. It depends on the child's profile and family priorities.

What should be in an individual plan

A working plan usually contains 5 things.

• Strengths. What the child already knows, what they are interested in, where they function well. This is the foundation.
• Difficulties that really interfere. Not "general features," but specific problems that are currently worsening quality of life.
• Family priorities. What is most important for you right now. Sometimes it is different from the specialists' priorities.
• Functional goals. Short-term (2-3 months) and long-term (six months to a year).
• A way to measure progress. What will show us that this is working.

Why 3-5, not 20

Practical advice. Better 3-5 goals that change daily life than 20 goals "just in case."

Why. If the child has 20 goals at the same time, they are overwhelmed. If the family has 20 goals, they live only in therapies, without time for play, rest, simple family moments.

If after 2-3 months the child is exhausted and the family does not live in anything except "through therapies," the plan needs review. This is not "giving up." This is choosing support that works in real life.

How to choose functional goals

A good goal is when the child will be able to do something specific in real life. Not "develop social skills," but "the child will be able to ask for help with a gesture or word when needed."

A few examples of goals that really change life.

• The child will be able to say or show "it hurts," "no," "help," "done."
• The child will safely cross the road with an adult, without running out.
• The child will be able to brush their teeth with a prompt.
• The child will be able to wait 30 seconds while the table is being set.
• The child will be able to sit in a short circle in kindergarten for 3 minutes.
• The child will be able to try one new food once a week without force.
• The child will be able to transition from a toy to lunch without a tantrum, with a visual warning.

Do you notice? All of these are specific, measurable, realistic.

Questions for any specialist

A universal checklist. Works for ABA, speech therapist, occupational therapist, psychologist.

• What is your education and certification?
• What kind of children do you work with?
• What methods do you use?
• What is the evidence base for these methods?
• How do you set goals?
• How do you measure progress?
• Can I be present at the session?
• Do you give home strategies?
• How do you react if the child cries or refuses?
• Do you work with AAC?
• Do you cooperate with other specialists?
• Do you promise to "cure" autism?

If part of these questions are uncomfortable or impossible to answer, that is already an answer.

Does this specialist suit us

A short checklist.

• Explains goals in understandable language.
• Does not promise to cure autism.
• Shows how progress is measured.
• Respects the child and does not build work on fear.
• Allows parents to be involved.
• Uses approaches for which they can name an evidence base.
• Cooperates with other specialists.
• Does not apply violence, humiliation, shame.
• Acknowledges when a medical check or another specialist is needed.

If something does not match, do not justify. Keep looking.

Approaches better to avoid

NICE directly recommends not to use for "managing autism."

• Secretin. A hormone that was once offered. Does not work.
• Chelation without medical grounds. Dangerous.
• Hyperbaric oxygen as a "treatment for autism." There is no evidence.
• Neurofeedback for speech.
• Auditory integration training for speech.
• Exclusion diets as a "treatment" for autism (not as treatment of diagnosed food allergies).
• Vitamins and minerals in megadoses.

The FDA warns. No regenerative product, including stem cells, is approved for treating autism.

If you are offered something from this list with a promise to "cure," refuse. The money will go to nothing.

How to check progress

After 2-3 months from the start, a review.

What to look at.

• What has become easier in daily life? Really, not "in the therapist's words."
• Which of the 3-5 goals have progressed?
• Which remained unchanged?
• Have new problems appeared?
• How is the child feeling? Fewer tantrums, more comfort? Or the opposite?
• How is the family? More resources or less?

Based on this, update the plan. Leave what works. Remove what does not work. Add new if needed.

If there is no money for all specialists

A realistic situation. Not all families can pay for private ABA, occupational therapy, speech therapist, and psychiatrist at the same time.

What to look for free or with partial payment in Ukraine.

• Family doctor or pediatrician. Free under the declaration.
• Child psychiatrist. Through NSZU, self-referral is possible, without a referral.
• Early intervention for children under 4 years. Often free, look in the community.
• IRC. Free assessment of educational needs and recommendations.
• Rehabilitation services through NSZU. Look on the map on the NSZU website or by phone 16-77.

If the community does not have what is needed, NSZU will suggest the nearest contracted provider. This is a more reliable path than "word of mouth" from private centers.

And one last thing

Your role is not "to hand the child over to all therapies." Your role is to notice what helps, what harms, and adjust the route.

A child is not a project. This is a person who develops at their own pace. Your task is to support this pace, not force them "to be different."

No specialist knows your child the way you do. So your voice in the plan is central, not "supporting."

End of the section

If you have read all five materials, that is a lot. There was theory, practice, and ethics here. Now you can close the tab and just go play with the child. The rest can wait.