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Home > FAQ
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FAQs
 Can I talk to other parents enrolled in DECDC? Do you have a parent support group?
There are parents you can talk to in every community. These parents may have experienced the same feelings, worries, and questions that you have. It is a good idea to meet and speak with other parents. The service coordinator will refer you to parent support groups in the community depending on your need and interest. You as families of DECDC are encouraged to start your own support group and you will be guided by the professional staff of DECDC.
Who is the main person I will be dealing with?
The main person you will be dealing with is the service coordinator; your service coordinator will start by setting up a time to meet with you to explain the DECDC Early Intervention Program. Your service coordinator will discuss with you your concerns regarding your child's development. S/he will:
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Ø Make an initial assessment to ensure your child eligibility to early intervention services.
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Ø Make sure you have a copy of The Parent's Guide to the Early Intervention Program.
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Ø Review with you your family rights and make sure you understand them.
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Ø Talk about and initially plan with you the details of your upcoming child's assessment
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Ø Give you the list of parent support groups in your community and help you pick one that will meet your child and family needs.
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Ø Have your permission to conduct the child’s assessment.
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Ø Help arrange for your child's assessment.
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Ø Make the appropriate referral when needed.
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Ø Be with you in your child's assessment if you wish.
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Ø Set up a meeting to work on your IFSP or IEP.
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Ø Help you understand what this meeting will be like; what are your rights and role in this meeting, how to prepare for this meeting, who else must be there, and who can be invited.
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Ø Help you resolve any problems that might come up – including disagreements about the services you and your child might need.
Who comes to my house if my child requires intervention sessions?
The number and the type of professionals that come to your house to provide intervention services as well as the frequency of the home visits depend on your family’s and child’s profile and needs. Every family is unique. But we, in DECDC, believe that one primary service provider who offers the best match of expertise and relationship with you and your child can provide appropriate intervention. S/he will provide direct services to your child and emotional and informational support to you. It is important to know that, although your family will be working with one primary service provider, the other team members will also provide support, consultation, and direct services based on what you, and the rest of your child’s team, decide is needed to reach your child’s and family’s outcomes. This model is flexible and can be augmented at anytime.
Why do you come to my home instead of receiving my child at your center?
Current studies have shown that providing early intervention services in the child’s natural environment (home for example) works very well with children and families because:
Ø skills are best learnt when they are practiced in the environment where they are typically used and with the people with whom they are typically used; this occurs in typical life activities both routine and spontaneous even if this environment is chaotic, small, crowded …and
Ø the family is the expert on the child and the constant adult in his/her life; the child’s interaction with his/her family in his/her natural environment will allow countless natural learning opportunities; having the child attend sessions with his/her family in the center/clinics will restrict the quality and the number of these learning opportunities.
If I don’t feel comfortable having therapists in my home, am I still eligible for your services?
Your child’s team will help you identify other natural environment where you might feel more comfortable (for example, the grandparents’ house if the child’s goes there frequently; the park, the supermarket…). Services might be delivered as well in the child’s classroom where s/he usually interacts with his/her peers. Delivering services exclusively in DECDC premises is not a primary permanent practice that DECDC would endorse and recommend, especially if the child’s needs cannot be met this way.
If I am not comfortable with the professionals working with my family, can I change them?
Yes, you can but you have to inform the service coordinator first with your request providing the reasons why you would like this change and he/she will take action.
If I am receiving services from DECDC, can I still receive services elsewhere at the same time?
We will provide you with a comprehensive intervention plan for your child and family. This plan will be developed with your input and participation. If we found that there are services that we are currently not providing then we will guide you to community services that can provide them to you. We want the best for you and your child and if there are services in the community that could complement what we do then we are fully supporting your desire to get extra help for your child.
What should I expect after my child receives your services?
After receiving our services, an improvement is expected. In some cases, this will require more time than in others. A continued and systematic follow up of your child’s progress is mandatory even after you are no longer enrolled with DECDC. We take it upon ourselves to offer the best services available that suit your child’s needs whenever it is in our power to do so.
What are the child developmental areas you assess?
In DECDC, we believe that the child is a whole complete entity that cannot be divided and therefore we assess all six developmental areas (cognitive, fine motor, gross motor, social-emotional, social-communication, and adaptive) for all children from birth to six unless the child’s needs are more discrete and specific.
What happens if I need a service you do not provide?
If you need a service that DECDC is not providing, your service coordinator will do a referral to external needed community services (out-referral). Example of out-referral services are:
Ø Psychiatric assessment
Ø Genetic analysis
Ø Assistive Technology devices and services (including Orthotics assessment and manufacturing, hearing aids, visual devices…)
Ø Nutrition services
Ø Audiology services
Ø Health services
Ø Medical services (including prenatal, perinatal and postnatal care)
Ø Nursing services
Ø Vision services
Ø Educational services
How do I know that my child is receiving quality services?
Ø DECDC will be held accountable for the quality of their service. To ensure high quality service delivery to children and their families, the program follows few guidelines:
Ø DECDC follows best practices and evidence- based approach in their services
Ø Recruitment of highly qualified and experienced professionals in the early intervention field
Ø Ensure regular ongoing professional training and development
Ø Adopt a Trans-disciplinary Team Approach which allows a systematic monitoring of all the child’s developmental domains that makes the team aware of any subtle changes in the child’s profile
Ø The program heads meet with the concerned teams regularly to monitor the program, to address the family’s needs and concerns as well as to evaluate the intervention process
Ø there is a monitoring system by submitting data and reports to the community development authority to monitor DECDC performance
As the family of the child enrolled in DECDC, what services do we receive?
Many of DECDC services are targeting the family as a whole rather than the child alone. Service coordination is the main service directed to the family in which many of the family’s concerns are met. The service coordinator arranges for different kinds of support systems that the family might need including facilitating and arranging for the services that the family requires such as family training, counseling, awareness, consultancy and the resource room which are available for the family to utilize; the service coordinator will be working as well closely with DECDC and external service providers to make sure the family needs are reached.
What happens after my child leaves DECDC?
Your child will be six years old before you know it. For many families, this is the age when they look for more organized and formal opportunities for their children. Some children are already included in infant and toddler settings, and are now ready to transition to preschool; other children are still at home. A year before your child leaves DECDC, a transition plan will be conducted to ensure a smooth transition for the child from DECDC to any other service providers chosen by parents; We begin our transition journey with a time line of expected events for the children, age five to six, and their families involved in DECDC. You will become involved in a transition for your child from early intervention into new educational programs as well as new activities in your community. Your service coordinator and DECDC service providers will work with you as partners to offer you information and guidance through this transition.
For DECDC, inclusive education is the recommended approach. There are many local community programs that may be appropriate for children and families leaving DECDC and that match this approach.
Are you going to help me with my child’s school? How?
If your child is already in school, we will coordinate with the school concerned staff (child’s teachers, assistant teachers, school principal…) to come up together with the family with a comprehensive profile of the child’s strengths and needs and the child intervention plan. DECDC professionals will implement this plan by addressing the child’s goals in the child’s home (home sessions) and in the school (classroom sessions). Communication will be on a regular planned basis between your child DECDC team members and the school staff.
Is DECDC only for children who have a special need?
DECDC provides services NOT ONLY to families of children with special need but also to children from birth to age of six who are discovered to have a special medical condition or be at risk of developing a special need that may affect their development.
What are the fees required for DECDC services?
For families of children enrolled with DECDC who are UAE national and reside in Dubai, no fees are required for our services.
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