HAve a preschooler? Consider a Child Outreach screening

By Jen Cowart
Posted 9/20/17

By JEN COWART Every year, all 3-, 4- and 5-year-old children are required by the Rhode Island Department of Education to be screened in several areas. According to Julie Driscoll, Director of Early Childhood in Cranston Public Schools, it's difficult to

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HAve a preschooler? Consider a Child Outreach screening

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Every year, all 3-, 4- and 5-year-old children are required by the Rhode Island Department of Education to be screened in several areas. According to Julie Driscoll, Director of Early Childhood in Cranston Public Schools, it’s difficult to get the word out to parents all over the city that children need to be screened, especially if their child is not enrolled in a preschool where it would be done automatically.

“Many people also worry that this is the same as an evaluation or early intervention,” Driscoll said, “but it’s not. It’s a quick, 20-minute session and it’s run in a fun, game-like manner, not scary at all. The screening looks at general development which includes things such as fine motor skills, gross motor and memory skills, as well as speech and language development, social-emotional development and vision and hearing. It’s just to make sure a child’s development is on track.”

Driscoll notes that doing an early childhood screening does not mean that something is wrong, and she also said that the screeners take into account the fact that sometimes issues that arise may just be because of kids being kids, and not fully participating in the screening, in which case they’d look further into it.

“We understand young children,” she said. “We know that they may be shy or not participate or co-operate. We take all of that into consideration.”

Should it be determined that there might be concerns in the areas of vision or hearing, parents are referred to their pediatrician. Should it be determined that there might be concerns in the other areas, a meeting is held at the Early Childhood Center and the concerns that came up are discussed at that time.

“The earlier we intervene, the more successful a child will be in kindergarten,” Driscoll said. “We want them to be as ready as possible for kindergarten.”

For more information on early childhood screening services or to make an appointment, call the Early Childhood Center at 270-8337.

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