Screening Children For Developmental Delays

The SPROUT program has teamed up with the Fond du Lac County Birth to 3 Program to screen young children for developmental delays. SPROUT stands for Supporting Positive Relationships so Our children Under six can Thrive. Becky Hoffman is the Birth to 3 Program Coordinator. The Birth to 3 Program can provide support to families whose children are experiencing developmental delays. They can determine how far behind a child is in development. She says, “So 25 percent or greater and that can be in anything communication, in motor skills, in social-emotional development which is something that we have partnered with SPROUT to help make people aware of.” They are asking child care centers to use an Ages and Stages questionnaire to determine what stage of development two-year-olds are at. She says, “So through SPROUT we have started an initiative where we are reaching out to child care centers training them in the use of the Ages and Stages questionnaire and helping them understand developmental screening and then targeting the two-year-olds that are in child care centers.” The Fond du Lac Area United Way supports SPROUT because one of the key pillars of the United Way is to support young children and families.