Pediatric Counseling

A child psychologist is an expert in the study of pediatric human behavior. They specialize in understanding thought processes and actions of children and interpreting them to guide appropriate mental health treatment. ​
"Thank you.  LOVE THE TEAM APPROACH HERE!"'
-Bryan, Dad
The pediatric counselors at My Private Speech Therapist can help your family and child in a variety of ways.  All of our therapists hold either a Master or Doctorate degree in children’s mental health.  We provide parent counseling, family counseling, private child counseling or sibling counseling.  In addition, we see many of our children within social-emotional playgroups.  We tailor the program to fit the needs of your child and family.  
There are many psychiatric disorders that can develop as early as infancy, or by five years of age. While some are rarer than others, it’s important to be familiar with the types of disorders that could affect your little one. These include:
  • Pervasive developmental disorders, such as autism
  • Anxiety disorders, such as separation anxiety disorder and PTSD (posttraumatic stress disorder). PTSD is the result of significant trauma, such as physical or sexual abuse, or witnessing a traumatic event
  • Elimination disorders, such as enuresis (bedwetting)
  • Eating disorders, such as pica (eating or craving non-food items, such as dirt or chalk)
  • Mood disorders, such as depression or bipolar disorder
  • ADHD / ADD and disruptive behavior disorders
  • Reactive attachment disorder (inability to form an emotional bond with primary caregivers)
  • Tic disorders (these involve involuntary twitches, movements, or sounds), such as Tourette’s syndrome
If you have questions about your child’s social-emotional development, you may find the below developmental milestones helpful.  If you have concerns, you can contact your pediatrician or email us to set up a complimentary phone consult with one of our pediatric counselors.

Toddler Developmental Milestones

Social - Emotional Development
This area of development involves learning to interact with other people, and to understand and control your own emotions. Babies start to develop relationships with the people around them right from birth, but the process of learning to communicate, share, and interact with others takes many years to develop. Developing the ability to control your emotions and behavior is also a long process. Children continue to develop their social-emotional skills well into their teenage years, or even young adulthood.

Below are some of the typical developmental milestones for social-emotional skills. After each age group, you can find some “red flags” that might indicate a concern.
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Please also see Communication Skills for more information about early development because speech and language skills are so important for effective social development.

Between the ages of 1-2 years, your child will:

  • Recognize himself/herself in the mirror or photograph and smile or make faces at himself/herself
  • Begin to say ‘no’ to bedtime and other requests
  • Imitate adults’ actions and words (e.g. chores) 
  • Understand words and commands, and respond to them
  • Hug and kiss parents, familiar people and pets
  • Bring things to “show” other people
  • Begin to be helpful around the house
  • Begin to feel jealousy when she is not the center of attention
  • Show frustration easily
  • May play next to another child, but will not really share until 3 or 4 years of age
  • Be able to play alone for a few minutes
  • React to changes in daily routines
  • Share a piece of food
  • Develop a range of emotions (may have tantrums, show aggression by biting, etc)
  • Start to assert independence by preferring to try do things “by myself”, without help

Red Flags for Social-Emotional Development (2 years)

If you notice some of the following things by the time your child is 18-24 months old (2 years), you may want to talk to your doctor, or to another health professional such as a mental health clinician, a speech-language pathologist, an occupational therapist, or a psychologist.
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  • Doesn’t imitate other people
  • Constantly moves from one activity to another and is not able to stay at an activity for brief periods
  • Requires constant attention to stay at an activity 
  • Doesn’t show any interest in other children
  • Doesn’t “show” things to other people
  • Extremely “rigid” about routines, becoming extremely upset when they are changed
  • Too passive, and doesn’t want to try things other children her age are doing
  • Has extreme difficulty waiting for items he wants

Between the ages of 2-3 years, your child will:

  • Be assertive about what he wants, and say no to adult requests
  • Start to show awareness of her own feelings and others’ feelings
  • Have rapid mood shifts
  • Show more fear in certain situations (e.g the dark)
  • Become shy, and may start to whine
  • Possibly become aggressive and frustrated easily
  • Not like change
  • Want independence, but still need security of parents
  • Need an ordered, predictable routine (ie: when saying good-bye to parents)
  • Watch other children in play, and join them briefly
  • Defend his possessions
  • Begin to play “house”
  • Begin to separate more easily from parents
  • Begin to show empathy to other children (respond to their feelings)

Red Flags for Social-Emotional Development (3 years)

If you notice some of the following things by the time your child is 3 years old, you may want to talk to your doctor, or to another health professional such as a mental health clinician, a speech-language pathologist, an occupational therapist, or a psychologist.
  • She is not interested in pretend play
  • She has extreme difficulty separating from you
  • He is not starting or responding to simple interactions with other children
  • She is showing abnormal aggression
  • He shows extreme fears that interfere with daily activities
  • She is extremely “rigid” about routines