MORE OAHU TODDLERS RECEIVE DEVELOPMENTAL SCREENINGS WITH NEW MOBILE CLINIC

PACIFIC BUSINESS NEWS MORNING EDITION (Article Repost)
Lorin Eleni Gill Pacific Business News
The Learning Disabilities Association of Hawaii is taking its child developmental screening services islandwide on Oahu, thanks to a new mobile van clinic. The association's School Readiness Project has been around since 2009, when it was created with support from Aloha United Way and the Samuel N. and Mary Castle Foundation. Working in conjunction with Parents and Children Together, screening services have been available for children in the Waianae-Nanakuli area for the past six years.
But when a donation in the form of a commercial van came to the Kukui Center from Honolulu-based Soderholm Sales and Leasing Inc., LDAH Executive Director Michael Moore says he jumped at the opportunity. After an additional $7,000 for a car wrap and an optical screening device, the van (with a $20,000 market value) has traveled across Oahu to screen children between the ages of 2 and 5. Toddlers are encouraged to be screened for developmental, social-emotional, autism, vision and hearing problems before they enter kindergarten, but many miss their chance.
The screening services provided by LDAH are equivalent to roughly $13 per hour for services — an inexpensive alternative to a state comprehensive screening program. “The fact is, we have no statewide system to do this,” Moore said. "We know about 40 percent of children are being screened by doctors so we’re aiming at the other 60 percent. With the new resources available, our goal is to reach a total of 1,900 kids each year.”
A Good Beginnings Alliance data survey reported early discovery and resolving of development issues for children can save more than four times the cost of addressing those issues later in life. Some children with undetected developmental issues may be referred to special education — an additional expense to the state, and in some cases, unnecessary for children who may be treated.
AUW has identified early childhood developmental screenings as one of its key impact investment priorities, and has supported LDAH with roughly $2.2 million over the last six years to support the project. Over the past six years, the School Readiness Project has served more than 8,165 children, — 5,600 of whom have been screened for developmental, social-emotional, hearing or vision problems.
The new van is a valuable resource, Moore said. "We can screen three children simultaneously on the van,” he said. “It makes it easy for us to get to communities throughout Oahu and respond to requests from preschools, church groups and learning centers, and see those we could not screen before."