Busy Box co-owner Jan Filkins sits with the keyboard in her lap. Four-year-old Livingston Jenkins stands next to her, not a hint of bashfulness at the request for a song.
Filkins plays as Livingston sings “Under the Teaching Tree,” his confident voice carrying a hint of Louis Armstrong. All the children in the room sit quietly watching their classmate. Filkins smiles afterwards, noting that “we may see him on TV one day.”
“He really has a lot of musical talent,” Filkins says, adding that the music is helpful in teaching him certain things, such as how to spell his name.
Livingston and his brother, Paul, 3, were deemed worthy of special help from the Madison County School System due to speech delays. The two now meet four hours a week at Busy Box Day Care with community-based teacher Allison Clarke and school system speech therapist Beth Andrews.
The instruction from Clarke and Andrews through the school’s Preschool Special Needs Program doesn’t cost the Jenkins family a thing.
And the work is paying off, as instructors say both boys are “blossoming.”
“This is such an excellent service and so needed,” said Filkins. “It’s also very convenient for the parents.”
Filkins notes that the instructors will meet with children at local day cares rather than parents having to leave work to take their kids to the instructors.
Clarke said that early intervention is a great help for young children. She notes that research has shown that addressing delays as early as possible is most effective.
“We’re trying to identify kids who might struggle in some areas before they get to kindergarten,” said Clarke. “They can grow so fast and learn things so quickly that really a child that has a delay, you can get them caught up a little quicker at this age than if you let it go until they’re a little older.”
Laura Standard, the school system’s Preschool Special Needs coordinator, says there are many services available to young children. The program has four certified full-time teachers, including Standard, as well as three certified speech pathologists totally dedicated to preschool.
“The children can get help for up to two years before they enter kindergarten,” said Standard. “So if they have a developmental delay, instead of being at home with mom, then we work really intensively with them and a lot of times, by the time they enter kindergarten, they’re much more on grade level.”
The Madison County School System will hold a free early intervention screening Monday from 4 to 7 p.m. at the Freshman Academy in Danielsville. Graduate students and a professor from the University of Georgia will be on hand to help conduct assessments of children’s hearing and vision, their speech, their behavior and fine motor skills.
If delays are suspected, then parents will be consulted about additional tests and potential services through the preschool special needs program.
Parents who suspect delays are encouraged to bring their child to the screening, but those who don’t believe their child has any delays are encouraged to take advantage of the screening, too.
“A lot of parents come who don’t suspect a delay at all,” said Standard. “They may just want hearing or vision checked. A lot of parents think everything is OK, but they just want to have someone check and tell them that.”
Clarke smiles when she talks about the time she spends with Livingston and Paul through the preschool program. She and Filkins try to describe the brothers.
“They’re just delightful,” says Filkins.
“That’s the word,” Clarke says.
For more information about the screening or the preschool services offered in Madison County, call Laura Standard at 706-795-0120 ext. 1462.
