Bringing up Baby
One of the many
LaGrange County community
programs that The Arc of LaGrange
County offers is the Infant Monitoring
Program, it is offered, free of
charge, to all parents in LaGrange
County from the time their child
is 4 months old through 4 years.
This program was started to afford
parents the opportunity to track the
developmental progress of their child
through the use of a screening tool
developed by The Arc. A questionnaire
is mailed to participating parents at 4,
8, 12, 16, 20, 24, 30 and 48 months of
age for self-evaluation of their child’s
developmental progress. According
to Deb Seman, The Arc Director,
“Many parents need to be reassured
that their child’s development is on
target.” The questionnaire helps to
reassure the parents and also informs
them what they can expect to happen
with their child next. The first three
years of your child’s development are
very important. Human learning
and development are most
rapid in the time from birth
to age three. That’s why
it’s so important to give
a child the best start
possible. The earlier a
child with a disability or
a developmental delay is
diagnosed and gets help,
the better that child’s
ultimate quality of life.
Early Intervention is
a combination of
services, supports
and extra
efforts aimed
at preventing or minimizing
developmental delays in infants and
toddlers. The goal of this service
is to help ensure that all children
are entering kindergarten ready to
learn. According to Deb, a total of 90
participated in the Infant Monitoring
program in 2012.
Unfortunately for The Arc, just
recently, funding for the First Steps
program was cut off. This program
benefited children beyond their infant
years all the way to age 21. First Steps
had assisted families with evaluation,
and ultimately therapy for their child’s
need. Now there is a void in services
provided for this age group by The Arc.
The LaGrange County community will
be hoping to at least partially fill this
void with a benefit auction, which will
take place in October. The Hometown
Treasure will have more information
about the upcoming Arc auction in the
September and October issues.
Progress Check List
1-2 Months
______ lifts head when on belly
______ kicks legs & waves arms
______ follows moving things with eyes
______ looks at faces
______ reacts to loud noises
______ quiets down after crying
3-4 months
______ holds head up
______ puts hands together
______ grabs toy when given it
______ follows a light side to side
______ coos & makes noises
______ looks toward voices
5-6 months
______ sits with some help
______ rolls over
______ reaches out for toys
______ brings things to mouth
______ makes 4 different sounds:
pa/ma/duh/gee
______ looks toward a bell
______ quickly smiles at people
7-9 months
______ sits well without help
______ stands holding onto something
______ feeds self with fingers
______ moves toys from hand to hand
______ repeats sounds
______ plays patty cake and peek-a-boo
______ fusses when parent leaves
10-12 Months
______ pulls self up to stand
______ walks holding on to furniture
______ points with first fingers
______ throws a ball
______ says mama/dada for parent