Tuesday, November 21, 2006

Campaign Aims to Increase Awareness of Early Childhood Development

It's time to change how we view a child's growth. Do you know all the ways you should measure your child’s growth? We naturally think of height and weight, but from birth to 5 years, your child should reach milestones in how he plays, learns, speaks and acts. A delay in any of these areas could be a sign of a developmental problem, even autism. The good news is, the earlier it’s recognized the more you can do to help your child reach her full potential.

In cooperation with a coalition of national partners, the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is launching a campaign to alert child care providers to the importance of tracking a child’s social and emotional development, including the potential early warning signs of autism and other developmental disabilities.

“More than 8.7 million children younger than five years of age in the United States are in some type of child care arrangement,” said Alison Johnson, acting director of the CDC’s National Center on Birth Defects and Developmental Disabilities.

“Child care providers and preschool teachers are in a special position to watch for delays and to promote early identification and action when a delay is suspected.”

A resource kit of materials on child development will be available free to day care providers and teachers to use with parents of children in their care. Information about the campaign “Learn the Signs: Act Early” and how to order the resource kit is available online at http://www.cdc.gov/actea
The CDC website is another website to bookmark for reference.


It is a great source information about developmental milestones and disabilities. There are fact sheets, downloadable resources, and links to other organizations and website. Stop by and take a look... and don't forget to order your resource kit.

Comments:
Cheers. That's a great start. Best wishes and Happy Thanksgiving
 
Post a Comment



<< Home
Free web site stats