Child Development Center gives delayed toddlers a big boost

Nici Zuffelato had no idea how to judge if her toddler Ryker was developing age-appropriate verbal skills until Mary Buenz addressed the Mothers of Preschoolers group at her church.

As she looked at the checklist of abilities provided by Buenz, she had a revelation.

“I thought ‘My son is nowhere near that,’” Zuffelato said.

When he was 2 years old, he met the criteria of a 50-percent delay in one area of development and was admitted for a range of assistance from the Child Development Center including a family support specialist and speech therapy sessions.

Buenz, intake coordinator at the center, said that Zuffelato’s experience is not unique.

“When you don’t have other children to compare, you don’t know a 2 year old should have more words,” she said. “We can test them here.”

Along with youngsters with speech and language delays, the center assists children at risk for delays in cognitive and physical development including vision and hearing, psycho-social and self-help skills. Help is provided at no cost to families.

With open slots for more children, the center staff wants to spread the word about this assistance. To qualify, toddlers up to age 3 must test with either 25 percent delays in two areas or a 50 percent delay in one area.

Children with chromosome abnormalities, failure to thrive, drug exposure and other established conditions automatically qualify for help.

“Some kids can close the gap with appropriate interaction, said Tonya Dalton, program coordinator.

 According to Dalton, many children arrive at school before their delays

are identified. Their parents don’t know that the Child Development Center exists to help those youngsters maximize their learning potential when their brains are most malleable.

“When children get picked up, they get a family support specialist who can go in and coach the family on things they can do at home to help their child develop skills,” she said. “It’s things like talking to your child while you’re washing dishes or making up songs while washing in the bathtub.”

Dalton said a lot of people don’t realize that playing with their child provides benefits. Creative play with a baby doll or stuffed animals teaches words and movement skills in a fun way.

They learn even watching and listening as a parent talks on the telephone.

“Kids love to copy what parents are doing,” she said.

Through practicing large and fine motor skills while playing, Dalton said children can establish patterns of movement in their brains. Interacting while playing, singing or reading with a child jump starts verbal growth and retention.

“One of the big things we do is a play group once a month,” Buenz said.

Dalton said the toddler group gives the child as well as the parent a chance to interact with peers. Staff bring their own toddlers and encourage parents to bring their children’s siblings to the play group.

 Many did at the February toddler group where little Elsa, 3, bounded into the room dressed in her Valentine’s Day party best. Followed by her mom Sarah Reddig, Elsa raced over to hug Andrea Rossman, her family support specialist.

“She loves Andrea,” Reddig said with a smile.

Elsa was born with Prader Willi syndrome, a chromosome disorder that manifests an uncontrollable appetite, low muscle tone and cognitive delays. A graduate of the toddler program, Elsa now attends school but still receives services at the center.

“She’s been coming here since she was born,” Reddig said.

Elsa’s mom credited Rossman with helping her find support services, including nonprofits like Doug Betters’ For the Children Foundation in Whitefish that help with travel expenses for therapy.

The Child Development Center also assists with therapy expenses.

“They pay for what insurance doesn’t pay,” Reddig said.

Rossman and other family-support specialists attended the February and other monthly play groups. She said she still makes home visits, and she was able to see Elsa begin walking last summer.

“She’s made incredible progress motor-wise,” she said. “It’s fun to work with families. Being in the home feels like a special setting. I get to help families with what they are struggling the most with.”

  Reddig said the toddler play group and other activities help her as well Elsa. As the mother of a child with delays, she appreciates the interaction with other parents.

“You definitely see you are not alone,” she said. “And there’s no judgment here.”

 Rossman said it can be hard to interact with friends who have normally developing children. They may not understand a child like Elsa, with her irresistible urge to eat and her behavior issues.

“I can’t expect other people to keep food away. Here it’s high where she can’t see it,” Reddig said.

As time goes on, she said children with Prader Willi develop more and more behavior problems. But at the toddler group, Elsa happily played alongside Ryker and other children with a large dollops of gunk, a spongy substance made of Borax, glue and water.

Dalton said that activity had a purpose beyond pure fun.

“They learn by exploring things with their hands,” she said. “They get to make a mess here and it’s fun.”

Ryker left the squishy fun for a turn in a plastic saucer powered by Paul Heath, his family home specialist. He said that Ryker made a lot of progress while using the center’s resources.

“He’s still making progress,” Heath said.

Ryker’s mother added that the Hannon Program was one of the most helpful resources that she and her husband experienced at the center. She said the program taught practical ways to help their child learn to speak.

She provided one example.

“You sing a song and leave out a word like ‘Twinkle, twinkle little___,” she said, prompting the child to fill in the word.

Every third week, their family home specialist would video them at home. She called the Hannon experience low stress with an added benefit of meeting parents of children with verbal delays.

“It was nice to hear what others were going through,” she said.

Ryker and Elsa and the other children moved into Valentine craft activities followed by forming a circle and clapping, jumping and moving to music and songs. Dalton led the children and mothers through a rousing “Itsy, Bitsy Spider” with finger movements to develop fine motor skills.

She even took a special request for the “Wheels of the Bus” song before adjourning to a healthy snack. Dalton said the activity between crafts and story time works with toddler energy levels.

“It’s hard for little kids to sit for a long period of time,” Dalton said.

The big room at the center located on Montana 35 reverberated with the happy chaos of excited children throughout the morning. Clariese Lyons, a family support specialist, said the February toddler group was typical of other months.

“The kids just light up when they come here,” she said. “They just adore it. You can see it when they walk through the door.”

As part of its outreach, the center invites families who have children up to age 3 to a free play session from 10 a.m. to noon, March 2, at the Zone Family Fun Center at 3240 U.S. 2 East, 2 miles north of Reserve. Activities include a jump house, giant slide, bumper cars, sand, water and rice play and an infant room.

Parents interested in the Child Development Center may learn more by calling the center at 755-2425 or visiting the website at www.childdevcenter.org.

Reporter Candace Chase may be reached at 758-4436 or by e-mail at cchase@dailyinterlake.com.