{"h1":"What to do if you cannot afford therapy for your child","faq":[{"a":"Yes. Under the government RBSK programme, District Early Intervention Centres (DEIC) screen and support children for developmental delays free of charge. Government medical colleges and district hospitals often have paediatric, child-development and rehabilitation departments at little or no cost. Your local Anganwadi or ASHA worker can point you to the nearest one.","q":"Are there free therapy or screening services in India?"},{"a":"Absolutely. Everyday responsive interaction — talking, naming objects, singing, taking turns and following your child's lead during routines — is genuinely effective early stimulation and costs nothing. The WHO Nurturing Care approach is built around exactly this kind of home-based support.","q":"Can I help my child at home if I can't afford sessions?"},{"a":"Pinnacle Blooms Network works to widen access for rural and low-resource families, including tele-therapy that removes travel cost. Please ask the team directly about support and access options — affordability should never decide your child's future.","q":"Does Pinnacle help families who cannot afford therapy?"},{"a":"It can. A disability certificate, issued through your district hospital, can open access to government schemes, scholarships, aids and concessions. Ask the child-development or paediatric department at your government hospital how to begin the process.","q":"Will a disability certificate help with costs?"}],"lang":"en","slug":"what-should-i-do-if-i-cannot-afford-therapy-for-my-child","title":"What should I do if I cannot afford therapy for my child?","entity":{"key":"equity-rural-03","kind":"access_equity","name":"rural and low-resource access","slug":null},"lenses":[{"kind":"stakeholder","label":"Parent","value":"parent"},{"kind":"intent","label":"Support","value":"support"},{"kind":"lifecycle","label":"Screen","value":"screen"},{"kind":"route","label":"Book-Assessment","value":"book-assessment"},{"kind":"empowerment","label":"Family Empowerment","value":"family_empowerment"}],"parent":null,"related":[{"lang":"en","slug":"where-can-i-find-free-or-low-cost-developmental-support-for-my-child","title":"Where can I find free or low-cost developmental support for my child?"},{"lang":"en","slug":"what-financial-help-or-schemes-are-available-for-my-child-s-therapy-in-india","title":"What financial help or schemes are available for my child's therapy in India?"},{"lang":"en","slug":"what-free-or-low-cost-help-is-available-for-a-child-with-developmental-delay-in-india","title":"Free & low-cost help for developmental delay in India"},{"lang":"en","slug":"where-can-i-find-help-if-my-child-needs-therapy-but-we-have-no-money","title":"Where to find therapy help with no money"},{"lang":"en","slug":"what-support-exists-for-low-income-families-needing-therapy","title":"What support exists for low-income families needing therapy?"},{"lang":"en","slug":"are-there-free-or-low-cost-therapy-options-for-my-child","title":"Are there free or low-cost therapy options for my child?"}],"summary":"If you cannot afford therapy, your child can still get help: start with free government routes like RBSK District Early Intervention Centres, government hospital child-development departments, and Anganwadi/ASHA workers. Everyday responsive interaction at home is powerful, free early stimulation. Ask Pinnacle directly about access support for rural and low-resource families — cost should never decide a child's future.","answer_md":"*If money feels like the wall between your child and the help they need — please breathe. Cost should never be the reason a child waits, and there are real routes forward.*\n\n## In short\nIf you cannot afford therapy right now, your child can still get help — start with the free and low-cost services that already exist around you. In India this includes government **District Early Intervention Centres (DEIC)** under the RBSK programme, your nearest **government hospital paediatric or child-development department**, and Anganwadi or ASHA workers who can guide you to local schemes. Pinnacle Blooms Network also works to widen access for rural and low-resource families, so ask us directly about support options — affordability should never decide your child's future.\n\n## Where to begin, step by step\n**1. Free government routes (no cost).**\n- **RBSK / District Early Intervention Centres** screen and support children for developmental delays free of charge — ask your Anganwadi worker, ASHA worker, or government hospital.\n- **Government medical college and district hospitals** often have child-development, paediatric and rehabilitation departments with free or very low-cost services.\n- A **disability certificate** through your district hospital can open access to government schemes, scholarships and aids.\n\n**2. Use what you already have — your home is therapy too.**\nThe single most powerful daily intervention is responsive interaction: talking, naming, singing, taking turns, and following your child's lead during everyday routines like bathing, eating and play. WHO's *Nurturing Care* approach shows this everyday stimulation genuinely moves a child's development forward, at no cost.\n\n**3. Ask before you assume.**\nMany families do not ask about support simply because they feel embarrassed. Please ask — about sliding scales, group sessions, tele-therapy (which removes travel cost), and any community or charitable support near you.\n\n## The Pinnacle way\nAbilityScore® is part of Pinnacle’s developmental assessment. Diagnosis, where needed, requires an appropriately qualified healthcare professional — never from an app or a form. With **70+ centres across 4 states** and tele-therapy reaching families far from a centre, we work to bring early support within reach for rural and low-resource families too. Start by understanding where your child stands with [the AbilityScore®](/ask/what-is-the-abilityscore-and-how-is-it-calculated), explore [speech therapy](https://www.pinnacleblooms.org/top-speech-therapy-center-india-proven-improvement-rate) and other support, and talk to us honestly about cost at [your first step](/).\n\n## Trusted sources\nWHO and UNICEF *Nurturing Care Framework* on low-cost, home-based early stimulation; WHO guidance on early childhood development; Rehabilitation Council of India on disability support and certification pathways.\n\n**Next step —** Don't let cost cause delay — speak to a Pinnacle team member today about an assessment and the support options open to your family.\n\nThis is general information, not a diagnosis — individual assessment and diagnosis require an appropriately qualified healthcare professional.","canonical":"https://pinnacleblooms.org/ask/what-should-i-do-if-i-cannot-afford-therapy-for-my-child","editorial":{"reviewed_at":"2026-06-11T20:12:18.613642+00:00","reviewed_by":null,"developed_by":"SETU Consortium · Pinnacle Blooms Network"},"alternates":[{"href":"https://pinnacleblooms.org/ask/what-should-i-do-if-i-cannot-afford-therapy-for-my-child","lang":"en","indexable":true}],"dimensions":[],"meta_title":"Can't Afford Therapy for Your Child? Your Options","meta_robots":"index, follow, max-image-preview:large","everyday_tip":"Turn one daily routine — bathtime, mealtime or the walk to fetch water — into talking time: name what you see, pause for your child to respond, and reward any sound or gesture with warmth. It costs nothing and works.","published_at":"2026-06-11T04:00:00.111202+00:00","reading_paths":[{"key":"therapy","items":[{"lang":"en","slug":"where-can-i-find-help-if-my-child-needs-therapy-but-we-have-no-money","title":"Where to find therapy help with no money","reason":"Linked from this answer"},{"lang":"en","slug":"are-there-free-or-low-cost-therapy-options-for-my-child","title":"Are there free or low-cost therapy options for my child?","reason":"Linked from this answer"},{"lang":"en","slug":"what-support-exists-for-low-income-families-needing-therapy","title":"What support exists for low-income families needing therapy?","reason":"Linked from this answer"},{"lang":"en","slug":"what-free-or-low-cost-help-is-available-for-a-child-with-developmental-delay-in-india","title":"Free & low-cost help for developmental delay in India","reason":"Linked from this answer"},{"lang":"en","slug":"where-can-i-find-free-or-low-cost-developmental-support-for-my-child","title":"Where can I find free or low-cost developmental support for my child?","reason":"Linked from this answer"},{"lang":"en","slug":"what-financial-help-or-schemes-are-available-for-my-child-s-therapy-in-india","title":"What financial help or schemes are available for my child's therapy in India?","reason":"Linked from this answer"}],"label":"Explore therapy & support","total":6}],"what_to_watch":"Watch whether your child keeps making small gains at home with daily talking, naming and turn-taking play — and whether you can access a free local screening soon. If you notice plateaus or regression while waiting, seek a screening promptly rather than delaying.","authority_links":[{"url":"https://nurturing-care.org","label":"WHO–UNICEF Nurturing Care Framework: low-cost early childhood development"},{"url":"https://www.who.int","label":"WHO guidance on early childhood development and care"},{"url":"https://rehabcouncil.nic.in","label":"Rehabilitation Council of India: disability support pathways"}],"last_reviewed_at":"2026-06-11T04:00:00.111202+00:00","meta_description":"Cost should never delay your child's help. Free RBSK routes, government child-development services, home-based stimulation and Pinnacle access support expl","related_materials":[],"related_techniques":[]}