Topic Preview: How do you know your child is special?

Time slot: 12:15 NN – 12:45 NN
Speaker: Dr. Mark Reysio-Cruz

If you saw a child in a wheelchair, what would you notice first? The wheelchair, the disability, or the person? In thinking, speaking, or writing, remember that child in a wheelchair is like everyone else - except that he has special needs.

But what about children with special needs who do not have any obvious physical disability? How do we know that a child has special needs?


Developmental monitoring is the key. Red flag signs are reliable clinical indicators of children at risk. These will be related to the different developmental domains (personal-social, language, fine motor-adaptive, gross motor, cognitive).

Several more common developmental disorders will be discussed such as autism, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, language disorder, intellectual disability, learning disability, and cerebral palsy. These are neurobiological or brain-based conditions. In the majority of cases, we can say that these conditions were not anyone’s (including the parents) fault. Emphasis is placed on early intervention as the evidence supports the fact that the earlier the intervention is given, the better the outcome. With appropriate education, intervention, and support, children with special needs may experience social, academic, and/or occupational success.

Remember that God does not make mistakes. Every child has been especially formed by the Creator. “For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well. My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place. When I was woven together in the depths of the earth, Your eyes saw my unformed body. All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be.” Psalm 139: 13-16. In essence then, every child is unique and special.