COMPASSION
REMEMBERING THE
I
LOST CHILDREN By Cindy Butor & Rayann White
n a crowded classroom of 20 or more young students, all vying for one over-worked teacher’s attention, some students get lost. These are the students with a little too much energy, who fuss and fidget, eliciting a dozen exasperated cries of, “Can’t you just sit still?” These are the students who puzzle over what their friends can do so easily. These are the students yearning for a quiet, safe place to learn. These are the students with special needs who need help. An individual is diagnosed with special needs if they have a learning difficulty, physical disability, or emotional and behavioral difficulties. If their condition is not addressed early enough or if it’s severe enough, they may require specialized educational, medical, or psychological care for the rest of their lives. According to the National Center for Infants, Toddlers, and Families, in 2011 68% of all children in Kentucky (or 116,082) had at least one risk factor known to increase the chance of poor health, school, and developmental outcomes. The KIDS COUNT Data Center estimated that in 2007 24% of all children in Kentucky (or 40,970) were diagnosed with special health care needs. Annually, the state of Kentucky spends $31 million on children’s special health care needs.
“It creates a difference for people to… be part of this grassroots effort.” Children with special needs require extra care, especially in the early developmental years of their lives. Neglecting these critical years can weaken babies’ brain development, crippling their ability to think, reason, or analyze and can result in a lifetime of problems. The Christian Appalachian Project’s Parents Are Teachers program bridges the gap between early intervention programs and occupational therapists by providing at-home, one-on-one care for young children with developmental delays. The program is a home-based early-intervention program for infants and children with defined disabilities and developmental delays or who are at risk for delays. The
participating children come from households living at or below the poverty line in Rockcastle and Jackson counties. The program believes that every child has the right to reach his or her full potential in the least restrictive environment possible and that all children should be valued and identified by their strengths regardless of their mental, physical, or emotional delays/disabilities. Suzann Fenton is the program’s dedicated resident teacher. She holds degrees in Elementary Education and Early Childhood and has been teaching for over 40 years. “I’ve always been interested in people that were delayed or struggled with education, and I think a lot of that is because I really struggled when I was in school,” Suzann said in an interview. “I feel that that’s helped to make me a lot more compassionate because I struggled so hard in school to make it through. I can really identify with my families.” Suzann came to the Parents Are Teachers program in 1987 and has risen to become the head of it. “I feel like I’ve found my niche in Parents Are Teachers. I just really love it,” she said. In the past 26 years, Suzann has helped hundreds of children throughout the Cumberland Valley and garnered both local and international praise. One mother, who wished to remain anonymous, said of Suzann’s work with her daughter, “You could tell a difference in a week. It was just really amazing, and [Suzann] has helped me understand how [my daughter] develops, when she should develop, [and] certain areas and milestones. She’s just always been there to answers questions or
Parents Are Teachers participants William, Amy, and April, and their mother, Verla Miller.
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