Stories From Our Staff

These stories are real; the names have been changed to maintain confidentiality.

A few weeks after attending a Keeping Kids Safe parent meeting, a child licked a gel-type air freshener. The mother was very upset and didn't know what to do, then remembered she had the phone number for Poison Control. They were able to calm her so she could care for her child, who was okay. If she hadn't had the information from the parent meeting, mom said she would have taken her child to the emergency room because she wouldn't have known what else to do.

One family was recruited for the Parents as Teachers program at the Troke Branch Library. It was the family's first time visiting the library with their child. Both parents applied for library cards that day, and the child toured the children's section and picked out many books for mom and dad to read to her. The Parent Educator gave her the Raising a Reader blue bag and explained to her that she could come back to visit the library with her blue bag and it would keep the books that mom and dad check out safe from being lost. Both the parents and the child were very excited and appreciated the experience.

When Mom enrolled in the program, she was five months pregnant and was concerned because her oldest child had not begun to talk. She was also having trouble working with him due to his impulsiveness and limited attention span. She was concerned with his aggressive tendencies of hitting and kicking during his tantrums. Her son was evaluated by Valley Mountain Regional Center and is now receiving behavioral and speech interventions. Mom reports that since starting with the Parents as Teachers program, she feels more confident in her ability to find ways to reach her son on his level and has even found ways to read to him. She has been working with him on signing and is now increasing her expectations for him to sign phrases instead of individual words to express his needs. He has risen to the expectation and his ability to communicate has increased. Mom stated that she feels her involvement with the PAT program has increased her ability to advocate for her son's needs and has made her feel like a more competent parent.

One of our families has been enrolled in the program since June 2006. Mom has three children between the ages of 7 and 9 months. Mom did not complete high school and lives in an environment that does not value education. Mom has continued in the program despite the objections of her friends and family because she enjoys learning about her children. She feels she has bonded better with her 9-month-old than she did with her older children because of the things she has learned. Mom is enrolling at Delta College with the goal of getting her GED. She has learned to value knowledge and wants to provide a better life for her family. She has also taken more of an interest in the education of her older children by helping with homework and attending Parent/Teacher meetings.

This family had shared custody of their child, but communication between the parents had been very poor. Dad had concerns about the child’s development and enrolled her in our program. Mom felt the program wasn’t necessary and that, by enrolling the child, dad was trying to make her look bad as a parent. She felt dad’s concerns were exaggerated and refused to have their child assessed. In October, the Ages & Stages Questionnaire was administered and the results indicated a delay in speech. The child was referred to the program Nurse who conducted a hearing screening. She passed the hearing screening, and a referral was made to Valley Mountain Regional Center for an early intervention services assessment. VMRC staff concurred with the findings of a speech delay, completed the intake process, and has begun providing speech services to the child. Mom has accepted the results of the assessments and now recognizes the child’s speech delay. She is no longer unreceptive to program information, which has given her and dad an avenue for communication.

In November, one of Stockton’s community centers held a family celebration and, as an incentive, was giving turkeys to the first 20 families. I invited all of the families in my caseload to the event. Maria brought her family and invited her sister, who brought her family, and a friend, who brought her family. These three families were the only ones who attended the event. Maria’s family would not have had a turkey for Thanksgiving if it had not been for this community resource, and it gave Maria an opportunity to practice her English. She was also helpful in bringing other families to the event who otherwise would not have attended due to their limited English language skills. In December, Maria’s family was also chosen by another community organization to receive Christmas dinner and presents for the children. Maria feels that her involvement in our program has given her more confidence in her ability to communicate with her children’s school, the agency providing speech services to her child, and in the community.

Kathy was very shy when she started in our program. Her mom came to a few parent meetings and Kathy began to socialize with other children her age. Kathy mainly mumbled only a few words when she talked. She scored low in communication and was referred to UCP by our program nurse. Week after week I noticed Kathy began to talk more; she was able to say a few colors, count, and name a few pictures in a book. Her mom said she is even socializing a little more with their neighbors. Kathy’s mom has joined a club at one of Stockton’s high schools that gives information about college and the importance of school, and she and her family have expressed their gratitude for our help.

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