For more than 20 years, the UA has provided speech, hearing and language therapy services for some preschool children attending Sumter County’s Head Start program.
Currently, twice a week, for two and one-half hours each day, UA’s Barbara Burgess, a certified, licensed speech-language pathologist, and three UA graduate students provide therapy for the children, said Dr. Karen Steckol, professor and chair of UA’s communicative disorders department within the College of Arts and Sciences. UA assists with the preparation of an Individualized Education Program, or an IEP, for each child.
“Early intervention is the key,” says Steckol. “The earlier we catch the problem and the earlier we treat the children, the less likely they are to develop learning problems.”
Services are provided to some 40 children who were identified during screenings by UA as exhibiting speech, hearing or language deficiencies. UA began a similar program for Greene County in the fall, and hearing and speech screenings are also conducted in Tuscaloosa and Hale counties. In addition to screening and treating children through Greene County Head Start, UA began working with some students in a private school in that county as well as some children who are homebound.
Children from birth to five who are from low-income families are eligible for Head Start and Early Head Start services, as are children who meet certain other requirements. According to the 2000 Census, one-third of the families in Sumter County live below the poverty level.