Where are the Children, Assessments for Whom?

In my search for Vulnerable Children by Willms, I found this excellent closing address for the "What Develops? Understanding Assessment in Early Childhood Education" workshop, which took place in SCARFE on May 13, 2004. It was made by presenter Dana Brynelsen, who is the provincial advisor for IDP (Infant Development Programs) of British Columbia. There are a number of startling statements she made in her address:

1. "I am advocating that we move to a system that ensures that from birth every baby in BC has his or her development routinely reviewed at predetermined intervals by trained professionals in concert with their parents."
This comes from the fact that many kindergarten teachers have approached her over the years saying, "you can sure tell the kids who are lucky enough to get into the IDP." Why should luck play any role in children obtaining the services they need?

2. "The prime reason for developmental screening is to ensure that children with behavioural or developmental challenges and their families have the earliest possible opportunities for intervention. Earlier detection of delays leads to improved child health and well-being for identified children and for their families."

3. "Finland has routine developmental screening for all children. It starts at birth, continues at very regular intervals and reaches 99% of the population, in a country with far more challenging weather and geography than B.C. In countries like Finland, with universal screening, there are few surprises at Kindergarten because early delays are caught and children and their families referred to appropriate interventions."

4. "There are about 160,000 children three years and under in BC and 5800 of them or 4% are receiving services from an IDP."

5. "However, most children with behavioural or developmental disability have ‘invisible’ disabilities, and are not part of a risk category... Some never reach their full potential because we failed to find them early in life and offer them and their families support and intervention."

As a mother and a teacher, the remarks made by Brynelsen are sobering. At first, when she started off her remarks by saying screening should be mandatory in our children, the first thought that ran through my mind was "NO!" For goodness sakes, there is enough of mothers- comparing-their-babies-development going on (and much of this, may I add, happens at babytime programs or other parent-infant programs!)... the last thing we need is for a professional to come along and make us worry that our child is developing slowly compared to other children. I also initially felt like constant screening is a bit of a privacy invasion. But that's purely the emotions of a mother!

As an educator and as a responsible citizen, I am convinced that mandatory screening is the way to go during our children's early years. Early detection could indeed make the difference between a successful school career and years of misery for our children. It is probably the single most important investment we can make in our society! From what we're learning in this course, children come into kindergarten with the majority of their pre-literacy skills already in place- skills that pre-determine their receptivity to reading and writing. More attention needs to be placed on the early skills- and early intervention if the skills aren't being introduced- to ensure these children become literate citizens. Really, the future of our society depends on it.