Current Needs

{Ensuring a Promising Future for Leah}

The first three years of life are a period of incredible growth in all areas of a baby’s development. The Childhood League Center’s Early Intervention (EI) program is designed to improve outcomes for children younger than age 3 by providing early, appropriate and intensive interventions. Licensed early intervention special education teachers, teacher assistants, League volunteers and therapists work collaboratively with the family to promote children’s increased mobility, social engagement, active learning and discovery.

Two-year-old Leah loved attending school so much that she would often cry on the mornings that her brother, Greg, was dropped off at the Center and she wasn’t. Enrolled in her second year in the Center’s Early Intervention program two mornings each week, Leah progressed considerably from when she first joined House 5 at 20 months old. At that time, she was just starting to sit up, cried when therapists approached her and paid little attention to the other children.

Shortly after Leah was born, weighing less than 4 pounds, a Help Me Grow service coordinator visited her home to set up services for the newborn, who was born with Down syndrome. During the visit, Leah’s mother, Mary, expressed concerns about her son Greg’s speech delay. Greg was 2 years old at the time, and the pediatrician wanted to wait until he turned 3 to refer him to a speech therapist.
Help Me Grow, a statewide referral program, supports families in identifying delays in development, and accessing early intervention and community services. After screening Greg that day, the HMG coordinator referred him for a develpmental evaluation and told Mary about the Center’s program. Greg was soon enrolled at the Center where he thrived, developing his expressive language and friendships that extended beyond the classroom. Before long it was determined that Leah would also benefit from the Center’s Services. Leah was put on the waiting list.

Petite and brown-eyed with a penchant for peek-a-boo and Woody the cowboy from “Toy Story,” Leah currently attends the Center’s preschool program. Excited to get to class, she sometimes forgets to blow her mother a kiss as she jumps happily out of the car and takes the hand of a staff member.
Help Me Grow reports that approximately 2,000 infants and toddlers under the age of 3 in Franklin County are eligible for early intervention services, and at any one time as many as 500 children are waiting to receive early intervention. After more than doubling services for infants and toddlers since 1998 in order to meet this community need, the Center will once again increase services for this young population by 25% for the 2010-11 school year.

We know that the earliest days, weeks and months of child’s life are a period of incredible growth when trillions of brain cell connections are made. Early experiences matter, particularly to a child who has been identified as having a developmental delay. Early intervention is provided to infants and toddlers who have been identified with a delay in one of the following areas of development: physical, cognitive, adaptive, communicative, or social and/or emotional.
Research clearly shows that early intervention, including therapeutic services, is essential for optimal development and the prevention of additional delays. Physical therapy provides intervention for motor skill development that is basic not only for mobility but crucial for a child’s general development. Developing language, communication and cognitive skills are reliant on movement.

Leah’s former EI teacher, Miss Darla, watches Leah in amazement now. “She went from barely sitting unassisted to walking, running, climbing, riding a bike and dancing. Leah loves to dance!”

According to Mary, Leah has developed most significantly in her social skills, and specifically with following directions. “I believe Leah’s progress in her social skills is a result of her growth in receptive communication,” shared Mary. “She is often underestimated since her expressive language is significantly delayed. She surprises everyone with her level of comprehension.” 

{A Family's Special Gift}

Four-year-old Dimitrius loved music and loved to dance, so it wasn’t surprising that he touched the heart of local musician Arnett Howard when the two met at The Childhood League Center in 1999.

“I came by the Center to play one afternoon, and I saw this little guy who looked like a miniature me,” shared Arnett. “He pointed up at the band, as if to say, ‘Look, mom, trumpets and saxophones!’ Later, I took his little hand, and Dimitrius and I led a Mardi Gras-style parade around the playground. Afterward, as we sat, I took his hand and used it to play some songs on my trumpet. We finished our concert, but Dimitrius definitely made a lasting impression on me.”

Dimitrius’ joy for life and learning made a lasting impression on numerous people, who were then deeply affected when he passed away suddenly in March 2000 following an unsuccessful liver transplant. Dimitrius was 5 years old.

“Early in the next year, I returned home to Columbus from a spring vacation, and I had a phone message from the Center’s director saying, “Dimitrius has died, and we’re going to have a memorial service for him tomorrow,’” recalled Arnett. “So in the shock of hearing that my young friend had so suddenly passed away, I dedicated the rest of my day to immortalizing him in a New Orleans-style, second line song.”

The next day, Arnett attended Dimitrius’ memorial service, and they saved his tribute song, “My Pal Dimitrius,” for last.
“We had a Mardi Gras parade in Dimitrius’ honor. It is 10 years later, I see his grandmother periodically, and we reminisce about Dimitrius,” said Arnett.

Dorothy Roberts, Dimitrius’ grandmother, knows that both Arnett and The Childhood League Center were special to Dimitrius, and as a result both remain special to Dimitrius’ family. Each year, she makes a special trip to the Center to bring an extraordinary donation. Since Dimitrius’ passing, she and her grandchildren have been collecting pennies for the Center in his memory. Every penny they see on the sidewalk or in a parking lot is picked up and placed in a special jar.

His cousins and grandmother feel a sense of joy with each penny they find, knowing that their gift for the Center is not only of money but also of love, gratitude and hope.

Gifts of every size, like “pennies from heaven,” make a difference. To make an online gift to our Annual Fundraising Campaign, please click on the orange DONATE NOW button at the top right of the page. Your gift will surely multiply as it gives hope and joy to many.

To hear Arnett Howard playing his tribute song, click here 02.My_Pal_Dimitrius_.mp3

{Building on Stacy's Strengths}

Martha Appiah sees a lot of herself in her daughter Stacy. At age 5, Stacy is fast and full of energy. Too much energy sometimes, her mother says with a laugh. As a two-time Olympian 400-meter relay runner for Ghana in West Africa, Martha may some day encourage Stacy to channel her abundant energy toward running. For now, however, she is thrilled that Stacy is thriving in a typical kindergarten and has “caught up” with her peers.

Stacy was born in May 2004 at 28 weeks gestation, weighing just 2 pounds, 11.4 ounces. She spent the first six weeks of her young life in the neonatal intensive care unit at Nationwide Children’s Hospital where she required oxygen, IVs, a feeding tube and several blood transfusions to survive and grow.

Stacy’s parents, Martha and Kwabena, have a deep appreciation for her resilience. As keen observers of her growth and strength, they sought assistance more than three years ago when they first became concerned about her development and communication skills. “She was the only child at home,” shared Martha. “And I knew she needed to be with other people and other children.”

Stacy began attending the Center in September 2006 at age 2. Like many children born prematurely, she was sensitive to noise and other sensory input, and had language delays. According to Mary Nicholson, her Early Intervention teacher, Stacy initially spent much of her time quietly observing her classmates and teachers.

Stacy became increasingly active and engaged in the classroom. By the end of her first school year, her vivid expressions revealed that songs and finger plays were among her favorite activities. Building on Stacy’s particular strengths and interests, her Individual Education Plan (IEP) included goals to increase her expressive language and social skills.

In preschool, Stacy loved to play with dolls and to dress up. Prior to making significant progress in her expressive skills, she usually answered questions with short phrases, according to her teacher, Kara Beckner-Evans. By her second year of preschool, Stacy loved being a teacher’s helper and enjoyed her friends’ successes. Her eagerness to learn and willingness to persevere were major factors in her continued success.

Stacy was “mayor of the class” by the spring of her final year at the Center, says Kara, and she became a classroom leader who encouraged the other children.  When evaluated for kindergarten prior to graduating from the Center in June 2009, Stacy no longer qualified for special services. “It is all because of the Center,” Martha repeated several times. “She talked so much by the end of the year!”

Eager for the next challenge, Stacy moved on quickly to the thrill of kindergarten this past fall and the excitement of learning new things. “She is doing wonderful! She loves her teacher,” Martha shared. “Her kindergarten teacher shows us how much progress she is making.”

While Columbus is a long way from Ghana and supporting a child with developmental delays may appear very different from training for the Olympics, Stacy’s race is one that Martha feels her family has won. While Stacy may not aspire to be a world-class runner like her mother, it is certain that she has the strength and confidence within her to try, if that is her desire.