READY TO LEARN: EARLY CHILDHOOD SCREENINGS CATCH BARRIERS TO LERANING

John Simminger held his daughter Anna Rose as she threw a ball to Carla Aufdenberg during the gross motor skills test.

Screenings to catch vision, hearing, coordination or other problems help parents and teachers make sure youngsters are ready, willing and able to learn.

Early childhood educators use a variety of tools to find out if children, including those too young to tell Mom or Dad there's a problem, have a condition that might interfere with learning and development.

Parents As Teachers and Educare both offer free developmental, vision, hearing, motor skills and language screenings for young children.

Educare, an education program for parents of children ages birth to 5, performed between 50 and 60 screenings last year, said Janice Jones, early childhood coordinator.

"We can set up more if people request it," Jones said.

She calls screenings "a quick and easy way to find out if there's a problem. It can tell you if everything's OK, or maybe this is an area we need to pay a little more attention to."

Screenings help alert parents and educators if help is necessary to correct a problem, such as poor vision or hearing.

"The main reason that parents like to do a screening is to make sure that their kids are developing properly," she said.

If a problem is found, said Kathy Heise, a parent educator with the Jackson School District's Parents As Teachers program, parents can be referred to the right place for help.

"One of the main goals is to, if there are any areas the child might be having difficulty in, connect them with the programs or agencies that can help them," Heise said.

With very young children, Heise and Jones said, it's especially important to catch problems early enough that they can be corrected without interfering with learning.

If a child has problems with motor skills development, Heise said, the family can be referred to a physical therapist.

Hearing problems can be especially detrimental if not caught in time, she said, because children may not learn to speak properly.

"A lot of times we pick up hearing problems, and the child needs to have a hearing test," Heise said. "Hearing is the basis of learning as you learn to speak."

Children with hearing problems can be referred to a doctor or speech therapist for help.

Youngsters with vision problems face a wide range of consequences, some as simple as not being able to see the blackboard when they get to school.

In that case, a screening may suggest a child needs glasses, Jones said.

Educare and Parents As Teachers both use the Denver II and DIAL-R tests to screen children for visual, developmental, thinking, hearing and language skills.

"It doesn't measure IQ. It just lets us know if there are any signs of weaknesses," Heise said.

Both screenings can help determine if a child is developing at the right pace for his or her age, Jones said.

"They cover many of the same things. Do the children reach out to pick up objects? Do they react to sounds? You're looking at different motor skills and language skills," she said. "You want to see if they're doing pretty much what the average child does at that age. You want to look and see if there might be a problem."

Early childhood screenings can help save "significant costs" for special and remedial education as the child gets older, Heise said.

Screenings can also spot potential health problems or determine if a child is at the right height and weight for his or her age.

But screenings can't replace regular doctor's visits, and further testing is needed if potential problems are found during screenings, Heise said.

Screenings can help parents make sure their children are ready to start school and start learning, she said.

"That's the main goal of our program is to help them put their best foot forward for school," Heise said.

Educare and Parents As Teachers are offered on a voluntary basis. There is no charge to participate in either program.