Free disability screening program empowers children – Bitterroot Star

Free disability screening program empowers children

The Jessop family poses together at Montana’s Darkhorse Lake in 2022. Photo courtesy Nicole Jessop.

by Sarah Glass

To ensure local children are on track with developmental milestones, the Bitterroot Valley Education Co-op (BVEC) will offer free screenings in various communities this November through its annual Ravalli County Child Find program. Focused on identifying disabilities in children five years and younger, BVEC Director Jenny Rammell said the play-based screening is free of charge and focuses on the following skills: speech and language, cognitive, motor, hearing, and vision.

BVEC provides special education and school-based mental health services to Florence, Lone Rock, Stevensville, Victor, and Darby school districts. The Child Find program exists as part of the federal IDEA or Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, the purpose of which is to identify and assess children with disabilities and introduce them to pathways that will allow them to cultivate positive mental health and success. BVEC works with parents, guardians, and local school districts to create comprehensive care plans including speech therapy, audiology, physical therapy, occupational therapy, adapted physical education, assistive technology, and psychological counseling.

In 2021, Nicole Jessop took her young daughter to [...]

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