Spotting Developmental Delays in Children

Inner Force Tots is a registered charitable organization that was founded by Dr. Garey V. Ellis more than two decades ago. Focusing primarily on children between the ages of 2 months and 5 years, Inner Force Tots adapts to each child’s development to provide the best care possible.

Even though children reach developmental milestones at their own pace, they should reach certain milestones within an established time. Delays can be caused by a wide range of issues, including autism.

On average, 10 to 15 percent of children under the age of 3 have had a developmental delay. Most of the time, parents notice when their child is struggling with crawling, walking, or other gross motor skills. 

However, problems with fine motor skills, such as moving toys between hands, may not be spotted by parents until their child gets older. Language issues may be another challenge, particularly when a child cannot understand certain words or express ideas correctly.

Since developmental delays are specific to developmental milestones, parents should become familiar with the normal physical and cognitive skills their child should have at certain ages. For example, healthy babies are capable of grasping and reaching for objects by about 3 to 4 months. They can stand when holding onto something by 9 months and communicate their desires in nonverbal ways by the age of 1 year.

When parents know about these milestones, they are better prepared to spot behaviors that signify that their child is developing slower than normal. Recognizing delays and seeking treatment quickly improve a child’s chances of getting back on track.

How After-School Programs Benefit Disadvantaged Youth

For more than 20 years, educational and child care center Inner Force Tots has served children with severe challenges including disabilities, challenging socioeconomic backgrounds, and limited English skills. In addition to an engaging early education program, Inner Force Tots provides diverse after-school experiences for Brooklyn children up to 6th grade, including academic support, arts and music programming, and science enrichment courses.

Over the past decade, researchers have found persuasive evidence of the positive impact of out-of-school programs on academic performance and socio-emotional development. An evaluation of after-school programs across the country found that participating in high-quality programming can improve SAT scores, reduce truancy, and raise scores on standardized tests.

Specialized science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) programs have a significant impact on the academic and career trajectory of African-American students. For example, African-American students enrolled in the nationwide Mathematics Engineering Science Achievement (MESA) program were more likely to take advanced placement STEM courses in high school. A number of programs also focus on important social skills such as collaboration, leadership, and goal setting.

How Homelessness and Poverty Affect Childhood Education

Co-founded by Dr. Garey and Tomora Lutreast W. Ellis, Inner Force Tots encourages inner-city kids to be over-achievers. Through this daycare center, students from several Brooklyn communities receive the support they need to overcome high illiteracy rates and poverty. Inner Force Tots also partners with dozens of homeless shelters and temporary housing facilities in the area to ensure developmental and educational programs are continually provided to kids.

The childhood poverty rate is significantly above the poverty rate among other ages. Plus, minority children are much more likely to experience poverty than their white peers. In fact, over half of Hispanic students and almost half of black students attend schools where at least 75 percent of the student population qualifies for reduced-fee and free school meals. Meanwhile, the number of homeless children has been increasing over the past several years.

Homelessness and poverty among children is linked to a greater number of health concerns, such as increasing respiratory infections and more frequent emergency hospitalizations. Further, these conditions affect children’s academic success and experiences. Children who are homeless usually change schools frequently who struggle to stay in school. This is often caused by the instability that is associated with homelessness. Since students don’t have a stable home, they may move around a lot, thus resulting in more school transfers and increasing rates of missing school.

Children who are homeless or living in poverty also developed about four times slower than non-homeless children. There are several reasons why development is delayed in these types of kids, including that they are raised without access to educational materials, hear fewer words, and are exposed to language that is more literal instead of abstract. Motor-visual impairments are also common among children who are homeless or living in poverty, as are emotional-behavioral problems.

Early Childhood Education and Academic Success

Inner Force Tots provides educational child care for urban children between 2 weeks and 5 years old. The organization also serves older children with school vacation care and enrichment through age13. Through a developmentally complete program, Inner Force Tots prepares students for success throughout school years and beyond.

A high-quality early education can significantly increase a child's chances of school success, according to data released by the American Educational Research Association. This data comes from researchers across the United States, who engaged in a meta-analysis of studies that evaluated the impact of services for children up to 5 years old.

Results revealed that early childhood programs reduced students' risk of grade retention by 8.3 percentage points and decreased chances of special-education placement by 8.1 percentage points. Perhaps more significantly, however, the same programs increased students' high school graduation rate by more than 11 points. 

This translates not only to additional evidence for benefits of early education during the school years of middle childhood, but also to proof that the benefits extend well into adolescence. Researchers also emphasize that a reduction in special-education services and grade retention translates to significant decreases in education costs, while increased high school graduation rates raise lifetime earnings for each student by hundreds of thousands of dollars.

The Benefits of Routines for Young Children

Inner Force Tots, an early learning center located in Brooklyn, New York, offers specialized programs for children 5 and under. The fully licensed infant, toddler, and preschool programs at Inner Force Tots each offer an age-appropriate curriculum that follows a routine schedule.

Many early education classrooms start their morning with a set of rituals that help children focus and enable them to look forward to the day’s activities. Cognitive and educational benefits to giving young children a predictable routine include the following.

1) Language development. Classroom routines often center around predictable phrases. In the morning, children may sing the same good morning song to start the day. Since young children learn best through repetition, routines in language can help very young children acquire new vocabulary and make connections between words and actions.

2) Emotional security. Routines help young children feel secure. Though routines should be flexible enough to accommodate interruptions, children cope better with change if their environment and schedule are normally predictable. 

3) Engagement. Routines help children more confidently engage in their environment. Children are also more likely to be inquisitive and exhibit behaviors that support learning.

The EarlyLearn NYC Initiative Helps Low-Income Families

In 1996, long-time educator Dr. Garey V. Ellis founded Inner Force Tots with the intention of bringing high-quality education programs to children in the inner city. Today, hundreds of students are enrolled in Inner Force Tots' comprehensive childcare, early education, and afterschool programs. The organization also hosts a registered EarlyLearn NYC center-based program. 

Launched by Mayor Bloomberg in 2014, the EarlyLearn Initiative was started as an anti-poverty measure. The program made childcare and early education more accessible to lower-income families by extending free or low-cost programs to all eligible children who are too young for kindergarten. In 2014, nearly 40,000 children were enrolled in an EarlyLearn education center.

The initiative tackles poverty in the long and short-term. Also, the program's reliable and affordable childcare helps parents find and remain in work. Furthermore, there is mounting evidence that enrolling children from low-income families into high-quality early education programs can improve long-term educational attainment and reduce dropout rates, both of which are tied to economic prosperity.

How Creating Art Helps Children Develop

Based in New York, Inner Force Tots offers after-school, seasonal, and general care to children aged 2 months to 13 years. Fully licensed in New York City, Inner Force Tots provides learning experiences to children such as the creation of art.

In creating art, young children are tasked with a variety of physical motions. These movements help them develop fine motor control. 

Because of creative arts, the muscles and hand-eye coordination of young children develop more completely. This will make writing with a pencil easier when the children are a little older.

In addition to developing motor skills, the creation of art boosts children’s cognitive and social development. Typically, children work on art in a shared environment. This encourages them to interact with others.

Art also teaches children the names of colors and shapes. Through these processes in the creation of art, children of varying ages develop their creativity and language skills.