LIHU‘E — A grant from the Young Brothers community fund helped launch an innovative program geared to help some of the youngest Kauaians with speechdevelopment challenges. The grant helped Kaua‘i Easter Seals officials purchase materials allowing them to develop familyspecific
LIHU‘E — A grant from the Young Brothers community fund helped launch an innovative program geared to help some of the youngest Kauaians with speechdevelopment challenges.
The grant helped Kaua‘i Easter Seals officials purchase materials allowing them to develop familyspecific materials to help families who have nonverbal or preverbal children in the household, said Shayne Tokita, Kaua‘i Easter Seals Hawaii director.
The funds were used in conjunction with the Picture Exchange Communication system Easter Seals officials here recently purchased. State Department of Education teachers and specialists use the same system, so the transition from preschool to regular school will be easier for the youngsters, Tokita said.
Wanda Shibata and Wendell Kam, representing Young Brothers, listened intently as Easter Seals’ staffers Pam Ishida and Elaine Castro outlined the Picture Exchange Communication system they brought back to Kaua‘i following a two-part seminar the Easter Seals staff attended recently.
Staff members at the Kaua‘i Easter Seals Early Intervention Program located on ‘Akahi Street have varying levels of proficiency with sign language, which is used as a communication method in toddler classes and individual sessions for preverbal and nonverbal children. Ishida and Castro’s attendance at the recent seminar adds to the communications programs, Tokita said.
The Young Brothers officials’ involvement is instrumental in the development of the communications system, as Shibata and Kam were presenters of a grant that enabled Easter Seals officials to develop materials for families of both preverbal and nonverbal children.
The communications system allows families a means of communication that can be used with each child’s network of family, friends, and school, she said.
Tokita explained that the Young Brothers funds will be utilized to purchase the necessary materials to develop the individual systems of communication for the children who are not able to communicate through the spoken word. The materials will remain with the family for use at home or in the community, with Easter Seals staff providing support through home visits.
Tokita added that materials given to families will be individualized to effectively meet the communication needs of each child and family.
“Communication” is the key word in working with infants and toddlers with special needs, Tokita explained. Communication is not only about talking, but it is also about being able to let someone else know what is needed through any means, including facial expressions, natural gestures, sign language, or pictures. Natural gestures are an integral part of the Hawaiian culture, Tokita pointed out, borne out of a necessity to communicate with the diverse ethnic groups that immigrated to the islands to work the plantations in the early 1900s.
It is also the most basic form of communication between a parent and child — when a child points to an object, the parent knows that the child wants it, she continued.
Difficulties arise when the child points to a general area and parents go through “hoops” trying to determine what the child is “talking” about.
The Picture Exchange Communication System was developed for severely involved children and adults who are nonverbal, and has been used effectively for infants and toddlers who have not yet developed a speaking vocabulary.
The system allows the users to ask for exactly what they want, thereby preventing or eliminating behaviors like biting, hitting, or tantrums which are borne out of frustration, said Tokita.
Tokita pointed out that at least 50 percent of the children enrolled in the early intervention program have communication challenges due to delayed development.
These delays may be caused by the infant or toddler having all his needs met without having to ask, or due to significant motor delays which affect muscle coordination needed to produce vocalism. Parents often need guidance and support in developing communication strategies with their children, she noted.
The Kaua‘i Early Intervention Program began providing services to children with disabilities in 1975. In 1975, the Easter Seals Hawai‘i board of directors agreed to replicate the federally funded pilot program, the Enrichment Program for Handicapped Infants through the University of Hawai‘i’s School of Public Health.
After 29 years, the Kaua‘i Early Intervention Program continues to provide services and support to families of children with special needs that are collaborative and family-centered, Tokita concluded.
Dennis Fujimoto, photographer and staff writer, can be reached at 245-3681 (ext. 253) and dfujimoto@pulitzer.net
