It is a sacred moment in life, expecting a child. Pregnant mothers and their partners spend hours rubbing the swollen belly, talking to the growing child inside and dreaming of the future. Parents who create their families through adoption ready themselves for the child who will arrive at an unexpected moment. We know our children will take us to new places and adventures.
But what if something goes wrong? Maybe a problem is discovered in prenatal testing, or something develops later. As the mother of a now-adult disabled child, I know the powerful feelings that follow the moment — many moments — of learning that your child faces unusual challenges. You fear what will happen to your little one, and there is much anger over the unfairness of it all. Relationships may also suffer.
Love helps us power through a lot of this. When my son was young, the other “special needs moms” and I would speak of “putting on our ferocious mommy boots” to overcome a particular challenge or barrier to getting the support we needed for our child and family.
On Vashon, we sometimes need ferocious mommy hip waders. The barriers to gaining services while living in an isolated, rural community can be significant. Fortunately, parents and family supporters are not alone.
Vashon Youth & Family Services (VYFS) and other resources on the island offer a variety of support services that can help identify children who might be facing developmental delays or disabilities early, and to help families raising children with special needs build their stamina and resilience.
When any family learns their child has a developmental delay or disability, the first questions focus on what this means for their child’s future ability to live independently, form meaningful relationships and build their own family one day. The great news is that interventions today can be effective in helping children overcome challenges that would have, a generation ago, significantly limited their opportunities to thrive. Early detection of an issue is essential to helping a child in need start therapy or other treatments as soon as possible.
VYFS’ Playspace is initiating a developmental screening program this year. A developmental screening is a simple, defined series of questions used to measure a child’s mastery of certain physical, speech and language, and social-emotional milestones. The screening and measures used for a child change as she or he grows. Milestones that might be familiar to any parent include whether a child is pushing up on their arms at a certain age in infancy, or the number of words a child is using around 2 years of age.
Screenings are available in English or Spanish. Playspace members may schedule a screening, at no additional charge, any time throughout the year. Non-members can access free screenings at our public screening events. Screenings can also be obtained for children ages birth to 3 or older through Vashon Island School District’s Student Services.
Most children never need additional intervention for healthy development. In many cases, where a child is identified as having a delay, it is usually quickly addressed with focused, early intervention. An example of this is a child with a speech delay. Intervention with a speech therapist at 2 years of age could help the child completely catch up and be back on track, with no memory in later years of having ever had a problem. However, that same child might be years behind if the speech delay is not found until he or she enters kindergarten.
When something more complex is discovered, help is available. Vashon is served by Seattle’s Boyer Children’s Clinic. Playspace staff can help families contact Boyer and will follow up to ensure that you and your child have the support you need to understand and access services. VYFS offers family counseling to help every family member manage the stress and other support groups are available on-island.
Every family on Vashon should have access to the support they need to help their children thrive. VYFS is here to partner with you and your family to help make this happen.
— Kathleen Johnson is the executive
director of Vashon Youth & Family Services.
