Tomorrow starts the new academic school year for the kids heading to school here in the Pioneer Valley, in western Massachusetts. There has been lots of preparation in terms of clothes, shoes, lunch boxes, backpacks, haircuts, eyeglasses, etc. The local mall has been a flurry of activity lately, and it is also busy with all the college students returning from their summer vacations. Preparation!
So what about the infants and toddlers, not quite ready to
go to the school, but still on the path that leads to schooling? What is being done for those young children? This might not be their fall to head to
classroom, pre-school or kindergarten, but it is not too early to have that
move in our heads. After all, the new
clothes, shoes, etc., are very important outer ways we prepare our kids for
school, and its also vital that we consider how to prepare our kids
internally. Get them ready in their
hearts and minds for the move to spending large chunks of time with their
friends and classmates.
Properly understanding a child’s development is crucial in
preparing the child to make the transitions from infant to toddler, and then to
pre-schooler. When we understand where
our child is from a developmental point of view, we can understand where he or
she is in relation to his or her peers – other kids their age. Helping a child to be among their peer group
with respect to all the different ways that children develop (moving, speaking,
thinking, feeling, and relating) is part of the learning process, and it is
important to help children learn.
For infants and toddlers, the 3 part team of the pediatrician,
parent or guardian, and the early intervention program, will provide the necessary
elements of protection and early identification of developmental issues that
can arise, so that the child has the best chance of succeeding in school, and even
later in life.
So, parents or guardians, its important to notice how your
child is doing and notice if he or she seems to be progressing in those areas
like other kids their age. What kinds of
sounds or words is your child using? How
does your child show you he or she understands what you are saying? Is your child looking at you or others when
they talk? Does your child follow sounds
or even objects that you move through their field of vision? How does your child move his or her body? Do you have concerns about these or other ways
she or he is during the day? Be sure to
talk with your pediatrician about these concerns or observations.
A pediatrician may have you take a short screening test,
like the Parents'
Evaluation of Developmental Status, or the doctor may ask general questions
about how your child is doing. Be sure
to let him or her know what you see, and what you might be worried about. This is very important, since you are the one
who is with your child the most, and knows how your child is doing.
If the pediatrician has a concern about how your child is
developing, he or she may decide a referral to an Early Intervention program is
appropriate. This referral will lead to
an assessment using a more complete and detailed instrument, the Batelle Developmental
Inventory, which looks at a number of items: fine and gross motor skills, adaptability
skills; self-regulation; speech and language skills; cognitive skills; a range
cutoff and age-equivalent scores; and national standardization. Once we have administered this test with your
child, you will have an excellent idea where he or she stands relative to kids
their own age. And Early Intervention
can provide services tailored to meet any developmental delays, billed to
health insurers.
With all this, your child will have an excellent chance
of fully making use of the wonderful instruction available to him or her
through the pre-school, once you get there. Preparation!
If you have any questions about Early Intervention,
please do not hesitate to contact me at MHuttonWoodland@servicenet.org.
- Michael
S. Hutton-Woodland, Ph.D.
