I am appalled at a system that allows children and families to be deprived of basic social and health services. Children that have speech or behavior difficulties are denied services from their school district, if their intelligence level is on or above normal. This means a three year old who is on or above his level of maturation is not eligible for a speech therapist. If this child’s family income is low to moderate, we are talking about a working poor family must find the money to pay for a speech therapist, or have insurance to cover this expense. When we evaluate the insurance of the working poor rarely is this type of service available to them. The state or county only allocates funds for services for children who are below the academic standards for their age grouping or severely delayed (special education). We are now looking at a system of the haves and have not’s. Children from families that have jobs that pays well, and provides comprehensive insurance coverage do not have a problem, however the children on the lower end of the income spectrum are at a left out of the equation.
My research would revel to the necessary municipalities the need for these very vital services. At a time when our country is falling behind the rest of industrial world in creativity and production we cannot afford to allow another generation not to be ready to meet the challenges ahead of us. This above average three year old financially disadvantaged child is fine at this time, however by eight years old he will be teased because of his speech which will impact his self esteem and finally impact his academics in a negative way. We must give our children the needed resources as early as possible; this is the best head start for our children, for our families, and for our nation.
