Between diagnosis and services

What to do while you wait for services

The wait is real, and it is common. Many families get a diagnosis and then a list, a phone number, and months of nothing scheduled. This page is for that stretch: a few small things you can start tonight, free resources from people who have thought hard about this, and an honest note on where SteadySteps fits.

Nothing here is individualized advice or a substitute for the services you are waiting for. Your child's team, when you have one, comes first.

Three things families can start tonight

Each one is a visual support or a small piece of positive reinforcement. Pick one. If it does not fit your child, drop it.

1

A first/then visual

Two pictures side by side: first the thing that is about to happen, then the thing your child is looking forward to. Draw it, print it, or use two photos on a phone.

Show it before the transition, not during. Say the two words and point. That is the whole thing.

2

One small routine

Pick one moment that already happens every day, like getting ready for bed, and break it into three or four steps with a picture for each.

When a step is done, notice it out loud, warmly and the same way each time. Keep it to one routine until it feels boring.

3

Agree on what “help” means at home

Decide, with your child if you can, what asking for help looks like in your house: a word, a sign, a picture, a tap on a card, or an AAC button they already use.

Then answer it the same way every time, even when the answer is “I hear you, one minute.” Being answered reliably is the point.

Free, reputable resources

These are free and made by universities or public-health bodies. SteadySteps is not affiliated with any of them and does not receive anything if you use them.

  • AFIRM modules(opens in a new tab)

    University of North Carolina, Frank Porter Graham Child Development Institute

    Free, self-paced modules that walk through visual supports, reinforcement, and other practices step by step, with printable checklists.

  • Autism Navigator(opens in a new tab)

    Florida State University

    Free video-based courses for families of young children, with everyday examples of what to look for and what to try at home.

  • WHO Caregiver Skills Training(opens in a new tab)

    World Health Organization

    A caregiver skills program built for families who do not have easy access to specialists, with open-access materials.

How SteadySteps fits

  • My Voice, always free. On the kid's iPad, a child can say “Help me,” “I need space,” or “Not sure” and reach a parent's phone. It is the “what help means at home” idea above, in an app, and it never gets gated.
  • A token board parents set up. Real routines, one token per thing done, and a photographed reward the family agreed on in advance. Visual supports and positive reinforcement, nothing more.
  • A small family pilot. SteadySteps is not in the App Store yet. We are inviting a few families to use it for about four weeks and tell us what did not work.

Caregiver coaching with a Board Certified Behavior Analyst is planned and not yet available.

Join the pilot