Keiki with learning disabilities do best if detected early

As families throughout our communities celebrate graduations ranging from preschool to high school and turn their thoughts toward summer activities, preparing thousands of school-age keiki with, or at risk for, disabilities for school must remain a priority for parents.

About 19,000 students in Hawaii have disabilities, with thousands more at risk for disabilities that may affect their ability to learn. Early detection and intervention can bring life-changing results for families.

Most children in Hawaii are not entering kindergarten ready to learn. According to annual Hawaii State School Readiness Assessment data in 2012, collected by 781 kindergarten teachers statewide, only 8.1 percent of kindergarten classes had 75 percent or more children consistently displaying key skills and characteristics necessary for success in school.

Approximately 60 percent of Hawaii’s children in the 2- through 5-year-old age bracket are not likely to receive timely early-childhood screenings. If unscreened, about 1 in 4 children with a potential problem in the areas of development, hearing or vision will remain undetected and untreated.

Studies show that children who start school with a disadvantage are unlikely to catch up to their classmates unless educational intervention programs are available. According to a study by Hawaii’s Good Beginnings Alliance, addressing children’s special needs later in a child’s life is more than four times more costly.

Not preparing children for success in school by age 5 will have lasting repercussions throughout the child’s life and negatively contrib-ute to family, community and state economic conditions.

This fact is amplified when combined with the fact that low-income, impoverished and homeless families — typically in rural communities with the highest Hawaiian and Pacific Islander populations — are far less likely than others to have the resources needed for proper early childhood development, health and education. Failure in early learning opportunities directly correlates with increased failure throughout elementary and secondary education. Hawaii has no statewide solution to this significant problem.

Children prepared for school are far more likely to succeed in secondary education and continue on to college or other post-secondary learning and career opportunities. They are more likely to earn higher wages and contribute more successfully to their communities.

Addressing children’s developmental needs will maximize their chances of entering kindergarten with age-appropriate language, literacy and social-emotional skills. This means early childhood screenings are absolutely necessary.

Nearly six years ago, with funding from Aloha United Way, the Learning Disabilities Association of Hawaii (LDAH) began a multi-agency initiative to create the first-of-its-kind, community-based School Readiness Project to increase the percentage of keiki ready for kindergarten. Since that time, LDAH has screened more than 6,000 children for developmental, social-emotional, hearing and/or vision problems; provided case management for all referred children (approximately 25 percent); and educated more than 2,000 parents on early childhood health and developmental milestones.

As the Parent Training and Information Center for the state of Hawaii for the past 24 years, LDAH provides information and referral, education and training and mentoring and advocacy for families of children with disabilities. These help parents obtain optimal educational results for their children.

LDAH is also working with public and private sector partners to use technology to reach the maximum number of families with information and services while working within static or decreasing budgetary constraints.

Through these efforts and continued partnerships with parents, professionals and community-based child and family-serving agencies, Hawaii’s communities can ensure that when the school bell rings in the next school season, children will be ready to learn.