Circle of Prevention

October 2008

October 17, 2008

Parents of preschoolers are constantly comparing their children to others. One three year old boy might not have any interest in the alphabet but the neighbor’s daughter can already write her name. A four year old might be able to dribble a basketball but his friend doesn’t yet have that coordination. While these differences are usually nothing to worry about, it is important for parents to follow their children’s progress as they grow and develop. 

These comparisons are normal, but there are better and more objective ways to learn where a child stands developmentally. The Child and Family Resource Council’s Connections program is one of those ways.

Connections is a free and voluntary program for parents of children under five years old in Kent County. Once enrolled, parents receive developmental surveys by mail, called Ages and Stages Questionnaires (ASQs). These ASQs coincide with their child’s age and are designed to be completed with the child. The ASQs follow a child’s progress in five core development areas:  Communication, Gross Motor, Fine Motor, Problem Solving and Personal Social. To see an example of an ASQ page, click on the PDF above.

Parents mail the completed survey back to the Council where the answers are recorded and the results are compared to thousands of research-based scores from other children, making this information much more reliable than a comparison with a neighbor’s child. If there are hints of a developmental delay, the parent is contacted by a Council staff person to discuss potential next steps.  Next steps could include keeping an eye on the progress or seeking a free community resource to evaluate the child. The parents can then decide what they want to do, if anything, to address the potential delay. 

I want to share Catherine’s story with you. Catherine signed up for the Connections program when her son Joshua was born.  A former preschool teacher, Catherine enjoyed filling out the ASQs as Joshua grew. Around the 14 month ASQ, she noticed that his communications scores were slowly getting lower and lower. Finally, at the 18 month survey, Catherine felt that Joshua had fallen behind where he was “supposed” to be with his communication and the Council agreed. A Council staff member called Catherine to discuss Joshua’s progress. 

The Council gave Catherine a referral to Early On of Kent County, an organization that provides free in-home assessment and services for children with developmental delays. Early On assessed Joshua and determined that he did, in fact, have a language delay. They came to his home every other week to work on speech and language issues. During these visits, Joshua was challenged to work outside his comfort zone with his language, and Catherine was given ideas of how to help him. 

“I felt really validated as a mom,” remembers Catherine. “My gut feeling was that he was falling behind, but our family and friends kept saying that he’d talk when he was ready. When the Child and Family Resource Council called, I knew it was time to look into a next step for Joshua.”

Catherine says that Joshua is a different child following his speech therapy. He speaks clearly and has a new-found confidence in himself. Joshua is now three years old and when he went to his preschool orientation last month, he saw a teacher who has known his family for years. She instantly remarked on how well Joshua was talking. It was a very noticeable difference. 

Catherine acknowledges that if she didn’t have the Connections surveys to help follow Joshua’s progress, she might not have acted on her suspicion that Joshua was falling behind in his verbal skills. That could have meant a difficult first year of preschool for Joshua. 

“Joshua loves school and he runs in the door to join the class activities,” explains Catherine. “It’s so neat to see him make new friends with the kids in his classroom and to communicate so clearly with his teachers. That has most certainly been a result of the early intervention and the Connections program.”  Featured in the photo above, Joshua enjoys reading with his mom daily.

If you know a family in Kent County who has a child five years old or younger, the Connections program can help them learn more about their children’s developmental progress and school readiness. Click here to sign up for the Connections program or to get more information.

Thank you for taking the time to read about this program and I welcome any questions or comments about this email.

Sincerly,

Candace Cowling

Executive Director