As a mother of a neurodiverse child, I know well the obstacles and delays that parents may face in seeking diagnoses and treatments for their children. The backlog in receiving a diagnosis and services for a child with developmental delays has always been problematic. Typically, children wait six to 18 months for an appointment with a developmental pediatrician, who evaluates children with a wide range of conditions, including developmental and learning disorders. Unfortunately, the backlog worsened during the COVID-19 pandemic and virtual learning environments with some waitlists ballooning to two years.

For children of divorce with developmental delays who may require intervention, co-parents’ inability to agree on whether intervention is necessary exacerbates the delay in treatment as they find themselves at a standstill in a court system plagued by judicial vacancies.