Conditions & challenges we support in Multan

Which of these conditions does my child have?

Most parents cannot tell, and that is completely normal. What you notice is a difficulty — late talking, unclear speech, meltdowns, a note home from school — not a diagnosis. Several of these conditions share the same early signs, and plenty of children fit more than one. A developmental assessment is what turns what you are seeing into an explanation.

So read the list below the way a parent would, not the way a textbook would. Pick the card that sounds most like the child you actually live with. If two or three sound familiar, that is useful information in itself — bring all of them to us. Parents often ring with the same sentence, in the same words: mera bacha bolta nahi (بچہ بولتا نہیں) — my child doesn’t talk. That is a perfectly good place to start from.

If nothing on the list quite fits, read the everyday situations other parents describe instead, or take the free two-minute development check and see what it suggests.

What you can do this week, whatever the label turns out to be

None of this needs an appointment, a diagnosis or any equipment. It is what we would ask you to start doing anyway.

• Get hearing checked. It is the first thing to rule out, and it is quick.
• Count words across every language together. If your home runs on Urdu, Saraiki, Punjabi and English, add them up — ten Urdu words plus five English words is fifteen words, not five. Our age-by-age milestone checklists tell you roughly what to expect.
• Say less and wait longer. Name the thing your child wants, then stop and count to five in your head. Children fill a silence; they rarely fill a stream of questions.
• Answer gestures as if they were sentences. If she points at the shelf, say “biscuit — you want the biscuit”, and give it to her. Responding to communication builds more of it. Making a child “say it properly” first usually builds less.
• Turn the television off during play. Background noise makes it much harder for a child to pick your words out of the room.
• Write down three real examples, with dates. What your child did, what you expected instead. That short list is worth more at a first appointment than a month of searching online.

When should I stop waiting and get help?

Ages are guides, not deadlines. Children vary enormously and many late talkers do catch up. Even so, get a professional opinion sooner rather than later if any of these are true.

A check that reassures you is not a wasted appointment. Being told your child is on track, and hearing why, is one of the most useful things we do.

If your child already has a diagnosis

Then the question changes from “what is it?” to “what now?”. A diagnosis is a key to the right support, not a verdict on who your child is or what their life will look like. Our guide to the first weeks after a diagnosis walks through the feelings, the practical steps and who to tell.

The rest of the family carries it too. There is support for brothers and sisters, and a few honest reminders for the hard days when you need them. If you simply have questions, our parents’ questions and answers covers the ones we are asked most.