After the Diagnosis: Next Steps Every Autism & ADHD Parent Should Know | Indy Wilburn

Receiving an autism or ADHD diagnosis for your child can bring both clarity and many new questions. What happens next? Where should families begin? What services and supports should they be looking for?

In this live session, Dr. Hokehe Eko, integrative pediatrician and founder of Glow Pediatrics, is joined by Indy Nelson, Glow Pathways Coordinator, to discuss the essential next steps families should take after a diagnosis.

Together, they will walk through how parents can move from uncertainty to a clear plan of action for their child’s development and support.

In this session we discuss:

What typically happens after an autism or ADHD diagnosis
Why many families feel lost after the evaluation process
The most important first steps parents should take
How to navigate therapies, school support, and community resources
How Glow Pathways helps guide families through the journey after diagnosis

Glow Pathways is designed to help families connect with the right services, resources, and support systems so children can thrive.

Listen to the full episode on your favorite podcast platform and check out the video version on our YouTube channel!

CONNECT WITH ME!
If you want to schedule an ADHD/Autism appointment for your child, you may contact Glow Pediatrics:

• Phone: 405-871-5807
• Fax: 949-695-2681
•  info@glowpediatrics.com

🌐 Website: www.glowpediatrics.com
📱 Instagram: @drhokeheeko / @glowpediatrics
📧 dreko@glowpediatrics.com
👍 Facebook: Dr.HokeheEko / glowpediatrics 
💼 LinkedIn: hokeheeffiongmd 

Transcript

SPEAKER_01 0:25

Talk okay. We're live.

SPEAKER_00 0:29

Okay, hello.

Meet Glow Pathways And Indy

SPEAKER_01 0:31

Hello, it's we from the Globe Pediatrics family. Okay, so hello everyone. We wanted to come today to talk about after the diagnosis for either autism or ADHD. What are the next steps and what should every parent know? And if you don't know who I am, I'm Dr. Echo, founder of Global Pediatrics. And the reason this is such an important topic is because most parents, in my experience that I talk to, after I hand them the I talk about the diagnosis, there's a lot of over overwhelming feelings that happen. Parents are often upset and feel overwhelmed and don't know what next to do. And so we've decided at School Pediatrics that we will not hand any parents a diagnosis and just say bye, see you later, go figure it out, because that is definitely not helpful for either my patients or the parent. So I want I have a guest today, an amazing guest, Miss Indy Wilburn, and she is the coordinator of our program at Glow Pediatrics called Glow Pathways, but I'm gonna let her introduce herself because she's she's amazing. So and I want her to do it justice. So Indy, tell us about you. Welcome.

SPEAKER_00 1:52

Thank you, Dr. Echo. Um, hello everyone. My name is Indy Wilburn. I am the case manager with our sister program, Glow Pathways. And um, what I do is I bridge the parents and the children with the great resources that they need. A lot of times when we find out the diagnosis of our children, there's just a disconnect. There's no information provided to us. So what I am here for is to bridge you to the resources that you may need, such as any AVA centers that you need to connect to, um, any community events support groups, uh, whether that's mom groups, sibling groups, or parenting groups. And I'll also assist you with applying with any SSI applications, um, with and also any TEFRA waivers that you may be able to be eligible for, or any scholarships or grants that's out there to help support our children in need. Um, I think that's very important to just stay connected with the resources that we have so we can have the best success for our children. And also, um, I do eventually I will be an advocate within the schools implementing IEP plans. And what that looks like is setting up success goals for our children within the school so they're no longer getting kicked out. But our faculty within the schools are working with our children to see them succeed and understanding their behaviors and um not a disability, but um helping them with their um their differences so that way they're not looked down upon, but they are um you know blended within their classroom and within their school so they feel supported.

A Mom’s Diagnosis Story

SPEAKER_01 3:44

Yes, thank you, thank you for that. Um, so how did you end up doing this? Like what led you into wanting to advocate for parents and their children after a diagnosis or I mean just in general?

How Resources Change Daily Life

SPEAKER_00 4:01

Uh well, it's a long story, but uh my daughter um was diagnosed with autism uh officially November of 2025. Um, but prior to that, she had uh we had concerns with doctors. She was in speech therapy, but we didn't have it officially diagnosed until last year. So when I found out as a mom of a child with autism, I didn't have that resource provider to help me on the next steps of what I needed to do. What I was left with was a doctor's note that was written in her doctor's note, and I had to find the answers for myself. Um, I didn't have that conversation with my doctor. She didn't notify me that my doctor had some symptoms of autism. So, what I did is that I took initiative and I found the resources myself. And um, a lot of time parents don't even do that because they just don't know what to do. So um being an advocate for her within her school and her therapy sessions um is what really molded me to this role. I feel like I I would like to eventually legislate for our children and um you know change some laws out there for artistic children. And um honestly it's my daughter what led me to this role. I have a background in social work, but it was completely different. But I would have to say my daughter is what led me here. Okay, wonderful.

SPEAKER_01 5:37

So, um, how how did finding out what resources are available for you, how did that help with your everyday life? And how did that help with your family? Like how what difference did it make for your family?

SPEAKER_00 5:53

Um, well, the difference it made is her progression within her speech. Um, so once I found the speech therapy, she was able to start building on every word that she learned. Um, it helped me to help understand her behavior, such as her tantrums and um just the behavior she was having. So it helped me have more of an understanding, and um, it gave me just a roadmap on how to guide her and raise her as an autistic child. Okay.

SPEAKER_01 6:28

So parents listening are saying, yeah, I feel I feel like I'm in that same boat. I'm overwhelmed, I don't know where to even begin. What would you say to that parent?

SPEAKER_00 6:40

Uh well, you can always start with me. Uh, I would love to for you all to book a session with me so we can bridge that gap in and I could um give you some words of inspires, not just business, it is personal for me. So I could always give you some words of inspiration and some mommy tips if you may need. And uh just want to I could help you just get on board, whether if it's um financial gaps that you need to close, if you need any um support groups, anything of that nature. Um I assure you that I'll be able to help you find the perfect needs that you may need for you and your child.

SPEAKER_01 7:18

Yes. And so the parents are listening and they're like, okay, that's great. So, but are you in my state? Who can you help? Like, where is where does your reach? What states? Um, yes, what states? What parents or what states can you help?

SPEAKER_00 7:38

Well, we are a national program, but currently we work with 14 other states. Um, so that is Texas, Colorado, um, Oklahoma, Georgia, Maryland, Minnesota, New York, um, and so on, and so New Jersey, yes, of them.

SPEAKER_01 8:01

So this is where you would find out. I just put our website in here.

SPEAKER_00 8:05

Yes, please refer to the website for the advice.

SPEAKER_01 8:08

You can put the link of uh exactly where you would go to find what states. But like she mentioned, we're nationwide, so it doesn't matter what state you live in. If you have if you receive the diagnosis and now you don't know what to do, reach out to us, we will help you. Please, because we do not want any family or any child to go um without knowing just to live in the overwhelm, because that is definitely not helpful at all, right? Because as described, you've described like what it felt like for you not knowing what exactly to do next.

SPEAKER_00 8:45

So, yes, absolutely. And um, I'm really big about um just because I'm not in the state that you may be in, um, I'm big on contacting the resources in that state that you may be located in and just conversing with the um therapy providers out there or any support groups or camps, just so I could kind of give a um more of a good feel for what they bring to the families. So um that way my recommendations are um you know accurate for you as a family.

One Step At A Time

SPEAKER_01 9:24

Yeah, that's wonderful. Okay, so what are you what tips do you have for parents to go from what tips do you have for the parents who just woke up today and just feels completely and it and it has nothing to do with pathways, right? Just just speak from one mommy to another mommy or daddy listening. What's what would you tell them if they feel really tired, overwhelmed, frustrated, and they don't know what to do? What would you say to them?

SPEAKER_00 9:56

Um, I would say to them, take one step at a time, and you can start by doing um words of affirmations for your child. So sometimes we look at those doctors' notes and we're overwhelmed and we're discouraged. I would say no, pay no mind to what the chart may say because your child is most likely, I know they're smarter than the chart. So I would say words of affirmation, speak them with your child or speak over them every day if your child is not there yet. So just take one stack like they do with their blogs and therapy. You take words of affirmations and then you build upon their confidence, you build upon their vocabulary with that, and eventually they'll be able to repeat that to you. And that's what I did with my daughter. That was the first thing I did after I found out her diagnosis. Well, after um, I found the notes within her doctor's notes. Um, that's the first thing I did is I spoke my words of affirmations, and you know, I didn't feel discouraged, I didn't let that chart um disappoint me. I just, you know, I looked at my daughter and said, no, not her. She's going to speak, she's going to uh thrive, and now she is.

Reframing Diagnosis And Building Hope

SPEAKER_01 11:17

Yes, yes, yes, wonderful. Yeah, I wanted to highlight that it's so important to speak life to your child and life to yourself. Let's start with we ourselves, the parents, because if we if we feel overwhelmed, if we feel like the end of the world has come, then it's going to show up in the way we talk to our kids, it's going to show up in the way we live our lives. And the one thing we want to do at Globe Pediatrics um is to share hope, right? There is absolutely even a diagnosis doesn't define your child, it doesn't have it doesn't create you don't let it create limitations around your child. A diagnosis is simply for support. That's and if you look at it from that lens, then that removes the stigma. And it's so important for we the parents to not let the not look at your child from a lens of not enough, not can do this, not good enough, because then that's what the rest of the world will do, right?

SPEAKER_00 12:19

So absolutely, yeah. I agree, speak all as well, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 12:29

It's so important, yeah. And I know it's scary to hear the words that, but I've seen kids that when you make changes in their lives early in terms of um nutritional support, environmental support, therapies, that the where their life goes is absolutely, I mean, nobody can dictate where your child and what your child is possible, what they can do. I tell parents every day, do not let anybody speak over your child or speak into your ears. If you hear it, tell them to just save their thoughts and and leave you alone. Because it's so important to guard what you're what how you perceive your child, because um any, I mean, anything is possible. So I never ever say you never hear me when I give a diagnosis, say, Oh, your child will never speak, never talk, never walk. How am I supposed to know that? Because I'm not God, so there is no way anybody, if any medical person tells you your child cannot do this, this, or that it's not exactly true because things change, and once you put the book in place early, there is no telling what your child is capable of. So our job as parents is to become detectives of who our children are, figure out what their strengths are and build on that, right?

Daily Practice That Builds Skills

SPEAKER_00 13:54

Yes, absolutely. Building your children's strengths, work with them every day, count everything as a success goal for them. I don't care if it's from them drinking from a straw, whether if they're pointing at a picture and they're not verbally talking yet, um, it just count everything and give also I would say I would recommend dedicating 30 minutes of playtime with you and your child. Whether if you're talking, just writing a book, um doing flashcards, or even going on a nature walk. That was one of the things I would used to do with my daughter. And I she wasn't speaking yet, but I would say, look at that tree. Do you see a tree? I would just talk to her. And um, whether you think it or not, they're listening, and eventually they'll look up and they're repeating exactly what you were saying when they were two. They retain them those memories. So um just dedicate that 30 minutes a day. That's it, that's one of the things that they'd do too, as well. Every single day, on top of the two-week uh sessions that she had with her uh speech therapist, and it helped tremendously.

SPEAKER_01 15:08

Absolutely, I agree because yes, we are our children's first teachers, right? And they're sponges took up everything, verbal or non-verbal, doesn't matter. They are spongy either way, they are learning from you and they're hearing you, so and your voice is precious to them, they've heard it since they were in your womb. So we keep talking to your child and keep speaking life to your child, and yes, yes, absolutely.

SPEAKER_00 15:37

I agree.

Questions And How To Reach Us

SPEAKER_01 15:39

Good, good, good, good, wonderful. So, um, if any of you listening have any questions, please feel free to leave them in the comments. If you're watching this on replay, let us know. And please subscribe and share this with a parent that needs to hear it because there are millions of parents that need help and are in overwhelm. And we are here on a mission at Glow Pediatrice. Glow means light, it stands for God's light, right? We're here on a mission to help as many families as we can go from overwhelm to clarity to next steps. We'll build your roadmap so that you can go step by step by step by step and figure out what's the best solution for your child. So, okay, any last parting words, Indy?

SPEAKER_00 16:24

No, just being heard, and I look forward to working with each and every one of you all. Thank you. Thank you. Take care. Bye.