281. When the Developmental Gap Gets Harder to Ignore

Your child knows every dinosaur but struggles to ask for help. They’re learning new things, yet the differences between them and other children their age are becoming harder to overlook.

What does that mean—and what should you do next?

In this episode, we’re focusing on the preschool and elementary years, when developmental differences can become more noticeable through play, communication, classroom expectations, and everyday independence.

We’ll talk about:

• What a developmental gap means—and why one “developmental age” can’t describe your whole child.
• How strong abilities in one area can make support needs in another harder to recognize.
• Why your child can make progress while the gap still becomes more noticeable.
• Why families sometimes wait to seek an evaluation.
• How to describe your concerns and request appropriate assessments.
• What to ask the school or therapy team if your child already has a diagnosis.

Whether you’re beginning to wonder about your child’s development or realizing their current support isn’t addressing what you’re seeing, this conversation will help you identify a practical next step.

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Wednesday, November 11, 2026
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Join Shannon to discover three things no one tells you after an autism diagnosis—and how to decide what matters now, what can wait, and what to do next without second-guessing yourself.

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