A panel of seven child and family support services personnel will speak at the South Whidbey Children’s Center from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m., Wednesday, Nov. 19.
The free event aims to educate families about available public resources, from speech therapy to help with purchasing school supplies.
Scheduled officials and groups include: Bess Windecker-Nelson, Partners for Young Children; Sharon Bell, Toddler Learning Center; Gail LaVasser, the Family Resource Center; Kate McVay, Mother Mentors; Wendy Beagle, Island County Infant Mental Health specialist; Lori Montaperto, elementary school psychologist; and Ashley Christensen, elementary speech therapist.
According to Kris Barker, executive director at South Whidbey Children’s Center, Island County has several resources available for families, but many parents and caregivers may not be aware of such services, or may not believe they qualify to receive them.
For example, said Barker, parents of children who are experiencing speech challenges may believe the child will grow out of it and decline to seek help early on.
“In the early learning community we know that early intervention has a much higher success rate for children,” she explained.
“It’s also hard — when it’s your child — to recognize that they may have some challenges that they need support with,” Barker continued. “No one wants to face that reality.”
Prior to age eight, Becker explained, is the prime time for children to receive instruction or intervention.
Each of the panelists will speak for about 10 minutes, describing their work and the services they offer. A question-and-answer period will follow.
“Often, especially if families aren’t in childcare or preschool, they are relying on themselves or their pediatrician to know if their child needs a little extra help,” said Barker. “And that’s great, but that might not be enough for some families.”
Speech services, she said, are one of the most requested. Mother Mentors and parenting classes offered at the Family Resource Center, she added, are other prime resources that many new parents may not be aware of.
“Coming home with a newborn can be daunting,” she said, explaining that both services assist families in handling the stress and uncertainty associated with raising a child. “So many new families are trying to decide ‘Is this normal? Is this typical developing behavior?’ ”
“Hopefully we’ll have a lot of families come so they can find out what’s available,” Barker added.
For more information on the South Whidbey Children’s Center, visit swchildrenscenter.com.
