Learn about the Goodwill Easterseals Miami Valley (GESMV) Child Screening Program and how it helps many from guest blogger Sarah Wrazen, Child Outreach Coordinator.
Shari
Coffee. The day always starts with coffee. And screening surveys. It’s become such a morning ritual that my staff jokes “Are you free? I don’t want to barge in on your coffee and survey date…” At the Child Screening Program here at GESMV, we have an online program that allows teachers and parents of children ages 0-5 in the Miami Valley to take screening surveys online and submit them to us, so we can see if there are any areas of concern for their children. It’s a great resource that allows us to reach many more students than we could in person, but I always want to have the time to go over each survey and be sure that we are not missing any delays for any child. So, my “Coffee and Survey” time is precious.
Next up, I go to my first childcare center of the day to take a tour and see how our program can support them. They would like us to send an in-person screener to complete their annual assessments. This is the main part of the child screening program: we complete assessments for each child (in-person or online) to look for any possible delays in development.
Most of the students test as “typical” on their initial assessments, meaning their skills are developing within the typical range for their age. If a student is just outside the typical range in an area, we will repeat the assessments every few months and send some activities for the parents to work on with their students to be sure they are catching up to their peers. For more severe delays, we will re-screen the students immediately using different assessment tools, and then refer them to different agencies for more evaluations and service. It’s important that each child receive the services they need to be successful in the classroom, and it’s our job to help these students and their families navigate through the process to receive the services they need.
After setting up a screening time with the new center, I’m off to visit one of our Therapeutic Intervention Preschool classrooms (TIP for short). TIP is a special class within a childcare center for children who have experienced trauma and severe emotional distress in their lives. These children struggle to handle their emotions and are often not able to stay in a typical classroom. Many times, they are expelled from childcare centers, causing emotional distress to their families, as the families then struggle to find resources to help their child. Seeing this happen again and again, GESMV has partnered with the Miami Valley Child Development Centers to set up these TIP rooms, where these children can stay in their childcare centers and attend the TIP classroom for as long as they need to gain the skills to emotionally regulate themselves and be able to be a safe, productive part of a typical classroom.
The goal of the TIP classrooms is for each student to return to their original typical classroom when they have developed the tools, they need to be successful in that environment. I’m at this center today to talk about one of our families where the parent has financial struggles at home. One of the unique parts of our program is that we are a part of the GESMV family, and we have the resources and Community Health Workers available to help the families of our students when they struggle with things like job placement, housing, transportation to appointments for their children, and many other areas not necessarily related to their child’s education. But here’s the thing: if a child does not have a stable home environment where they have food to eat and a bed to sleep in, or basic healthcare, how can we expect them to arrive to school ready to learn? I know if I don’t have my morning coffee or a bad night’s sleep, I am a bear to deal with all day, so why are we expecting our 4-year-olds to behave in a classroom if they have hungry tummies or didn’t sleep because they didn’t have a safe warm bed? I am happy to get the information to connect them with our Community Health Workers at GESMV to help this family get back on their feet so their student can be successful at school.
My final stop today is back at the Main Street office, where we will be having a department staff meeting. Today we also have our Early Childhood Mental Health Consultant with us, who is an integral part of our team. Our ECMH consultant works with students, classroom teachers and staff, and families to create a team support for the child as they learn social and emotional skills needed for school. It’s yet another way we can provide a pathway to success for each child.
By this time, the coffee has worn off hours ago, and I am ready to go home and rest up for tomorrow. I look around at our little office and take a moment to be thankful for this program and all the work it does for the young children in the Greater Dayton Area.
Thank you for the work that you and your team do each and every day, you are making a difference in the lives of so many children and their families.
Thank you for the valuable work you do with the youngest members of our community!
This is an awesome service. My church Pre School has been using Child Screening since its inception and it is a wonderful tool for parents and teachers. Early intervention is key.