KIRKSVILLE, MO -- The Parents as Teachers Program at the Early Childhood Learning Center in Kirksville is offering free developmental screenings to children. The program is designed to confirm whether a child’s development is on track, aiding in early detection of any health, hearing, vision or developmental concerns.
“The screening that we use is called the Denver Developmental Screening and it looks at three developmental areas” said Parent Educator Sandy Adams. “It looks at motor, personal/social and language and within motor it defines it within two sections which is fine motor and gross motor; so small muscles and big muscles.”
The screenings are for children ages six months to 36 months and reside inside the Kirksville School District. A certified parent educator can either schedule a free appointment at your home or at the Early Childhood Learning Center in Kirksville.
“The American Pediatric Association really recommends an annual screening of children and the reason why I think its so important is it really kind of catches any kind of developmental delays that might be happening and catch them early and we know through research that the earlier we catch them we can intervene and then those can self correct before kids start school sometime” said Adams.
So far this year the Parents as Teacher Program have administered 140 screenings, which is short of their goal of 237 by May. Adams encourages all parents to have their children checked because it can give them peace of mind.
“There were a couple of tips I picked up even when my parent educator did screening with my children of things that I could do that would help promote their development” said Adams. “So I think it’s just helpful information plus I think it just reassures parents like how their child is doing compared to others the same age so I think that helps.”
If you would like to set up a screening for your child, call the Parents as Teachers Program at (660) 626-1459.
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