This year, kindergarten teacher Christina Walker noticed a difference in her young students right away.<\/p>\n
Many of them were missing basic social-emotional skills for kindergarten readiness, such as knowing how to cope with challenges.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey\u2019ll just break down and start crying, instead of asking for help or doing it a different way,\u201d said Walker, who teaches at Winters Well Elementary School in Tonopah, a community on the western edge of Maricopa County. \u201cI have some that are crying because they don\u2019t get it right, or they break down, frustrated because it\u2019s too hard for them. It\u2019s taking us longer to get to where they need to be.\u201d<\/p>\n
When school starts, it\u2019s not surprising that some of the children miss their parents. Walker said separation anxiety is impacting the classroom more and more.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe get more of those now,\u201d Walker said. \u201cAt the beginning of this year, so many were crying for their mom and dad. We can\u2019t teach or do anything with that because they shut down. You have to wait them out.\u201d<\/p>\n
The children entering kindergarten and preschool this year are sometimes referred to as COVID babies. Many of these young children spent their early years in isolation at home with their families, due to the COVID-19 pandemic. During that time, well-child visits were missed and with that, sensory and developmental screenings to identify potential delays were also often missed.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s been a concern since early in the pandemic in 2020 for the people who work in Arizona\u2019s early intervention system. These organizations coordinate and deliver early screening services and assist families in finding help for their children.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe started talking in April 2020 about seeing some sort of fall-out because the littles that didn\u2019t get screenings weren\u2019t going to get early intervention,\u201d said Janna Murrell, assistant executive director at Raising Special Kids, an organization that provides support and information for parents of children with disabilities and special health care needs in Arizona. It also serves as a central point of referral for many families.<\/p>\n
As Arizona\u2019s early childhood agency, First Things First also works to get parents the support they need to catch a potential delay in their child\u2019s development.<\/p>\n
Through grant partners, FTF funds strategies that perform developmental and sensory screenings on children birth to age 5 in places such as child care centers and family resource centers, said FTF Senior Director for Children\u2019s Health, Melissa Affronti.<\/p>\n
School administrators and teachers are saying today\u2019s children are entering kindergarten developmentally and socially behind compared to kindergartners from pre-COVID years.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re seeing that there\u2019s lots of anxiety and more tears, definitely because of COVID,\u201d said David Dumon, superintendent of the Altar Valley School District, which is in a small rural community in Pima County. \u201cAnd not just in kindergarten, but our first-, second-, third-graders, also.\u201d<\/p>\n
For Murrell, the work continues to make sure parents know the importance of developmental and sensory screenings for babies, toddlers and preschoolers. Today\u2019s new parents, they never had the experience of having a baby or young child outside of a public health emergency.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou might have a parent with decreased awareness that this behavior they\u2019re seeing in their child has become normalized for the families,\u201d she said.\u00a0 \u201cYoung families don\u2019t know it\u2019s not normal.\u201d<\/p>\n
That\u2019s where sensory and developmental screenings can make the difference. Typically, these screenings are done at their pediatrician or health provider’s office, but can also be found in community settings.<\/p>\n
\u201cDuring COVID, it wasn\u2019t a priority for the families,\u201d Murrell said. \u201cIf they weren\u2019t sick, they weren\u2019t taking their child to the doctor for a well-visit. If we don\u2019t start embedding interventions sooner than later, it\u2019s only going to get worse. We need to embed as many supports as we possibly can.\u201d<\/p>\n