Teaching 6 children with Autism Spectrum Disorder

I am a mother of 4 year old twins with special needs. My children needed early intervention services, and we worked with several specialists since being diagnosed with developmental delays. I became very frustrated because there was a serious language barrier for my children, since we mostly speak Russian in the house. They were not progressing with the therapists we had , and it wasn't clear if that was the case because of intellectual disabilities, or because of the language barrier. In fact, my children regressed significantly during that year, and it was quite depressing.

I finally found the Pennsylvania Diversity Children's Organization after searching for a Russian speaking speech therapist / Early Intervention program for over a year. My children have been coming to see the bi/trilingual specialists since October 2013, and they have blossomed. The progress has been amazing, and it's all thanks to the wonderful people at PENNDCO. There is a large Russian and Ukrainian-speaking community in the northeast Philadelphia area, and PENNDCO is the only organization available to provide services to kids with speech problems, physical disabilities, developmental delays, autism spectrum disorder, etc. in need of early intervention in the language they can understand and respond to. I know this, because besides being a special needs mom, I am also a pediatric nurse practitioner serving this population. Now I am able to refer my patients to this wonderful place that has made such a difference in our lives, and I can be sure they will get the help they need here.