Developmental screenings play a crucial role in gauging children’s growth across key areas like speech, motor skills, and social development. These essential screenings provide families with guidance to identify and address any concerns they may have with their child’s development. Offered twice yearly, the Community Developmental Screening is held by the Board’s Early Intervention (EI) team in collaboration with many community providers for children ages 0-5 in Allen County. This valuable resource enables families to ensure their child is on track for developmental milestones and identifies any delays a child may have.
Covering hearing, dental, growth, vision, behavior, gross motor, fine motor, speech and autism, the Community Developmental Screening assessments are thorough and informative. For Emily, the screening was very beneficial for her daughter, Ellie. She had heard about the screening through several people, including EI staff, when Ellie didn’t qualify for services at first. After having further concerns about Ellie’s development, she attended the screening a few months later. “The wait isn’t very long. What’s nice about the screening is they offer different services, but you don’t have to go to every single screening while you’re there. Even if they don’t qualify to get evaluated further, it will just give you a piece of mind that you’re doing everything you can for your child,” Emily shared about her experience with the screening.
From there, Ellie began receiving EI services. Ellie went from having difficulties rolling over and sitting up, to running and jumping by the time she finished Early Intervention. “Overall, I feel like Ellie has improved with all the physical stuff and when I look at the milestones now, she is right on track,” Emily said. “Every time Kathy would come to the house she would say how much she was improving.”
Kathy Hoelscher is a Physical Therapist contracted with the Board. She offers gross motor evaluations at the screening and then provides the service for EI, both of which she provided to Ellie. When asked about recommending the screening to the community, Kathy shared: “Absolutely. When developmental concerns are caught early, we can coach the family on activities to do at home to improve those skills.” Emily shared many accolades about Kathy’s work with Ellie, especially how she would include Emily’s older child, Luke, in every visit. “Kathy was awesome! She was very energetic and positive. She gave me all the tips and tricks that I needed to help Ellie succeed,” Emily said.
The Community Developmental Screenings would not be what they are without the collaboration of the following organizations: Allen County Educational Service Center, Lima City Schools, Lima Memorial Health Systems, Mercy Health St. Rita's, Lions Club, Wiechart Dental Smile Studio, West Ohio Community Action Partnership, Play Matters and Autism Life Center. Trista Krouse, an Audiologist from Mercy Health, has been partnering with the Board for 23 years on these screenings. “If there is a community member with a specific development concern for their child/grandchild, the community screening is a great place to start!” Trista said. “I will often recommend the screening to my patients for any concerns that they may have. Many children have been identified as needing further testing/follow up.” Having these collaborations with other agencies allows for the best outcome for the children and families attending. There are many options available to them for further services.
The Community Developmental Screenings offer valuable support for families. The advantages of these free assessments foster community connection, promote early intervention, and significantly aid children’s developmental progress. As accounted by Emily for Ellie, the screening and EI in tandem have put Ellie right on track for her developmental milestones. If you’re a parent wondering about your child’s development, consider attending the screening this upcoming Tuesday, October 22. It is located at the Rhodes State Borra Center from 4pm-7pm, with registration ending at 6pm. Families can also reach out to the Early Intervention team at 419-221-1262.
