NON-PROFIT PROVIDES FREE EDUCATIONAL MATERIALS FOR DETECTING EARLY MOTOR DELAYS
(CHICAGO) – Each year 400,000 children are born at risk for an early motor delay.1 For the past 30 years, Pathways.org’s mission has been to raise awareness about the importance of early detection and intervention for these delays by sharing FREE educational materials on child development for parents and health professionals. These delays can affect a child’s ability to learn basic skills such as grasping, crawling, standing, walking, and talking.
Motor irregularities can become apparent as early as two months of age. Detecting delays early and providing intervention can help children to reach their fullest potential.
Pathways.org offers FREE videos and handouts that compare typical and atypical development in infants at two, four, and six months of age. The videos demonstrate how the power of observation can be a physician’s greatest tool in evaluating a child. In total, the videos have been viewed all over the world more than one million times.
“Physicians have the book knowledge to know the developmental milestones in children but they may not necessarily know what they look like,” said Dr. John Sarwark, M.D., FAAP, FAAOS, head of orthopedic surgery at Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago and co-chair of Pathways’ Medical Roundtable. “The visual impact is as important for clinicians as it is for parents.”
The FREE Pathways.org Assure Baby’s Physical Development brochure offers a clear and concise chart to plot out development for the first year of life. Endorsed by the American Academy of Pediatrics, the American College of Osteopathic Pediatricians, the National Association of Pediatric Nurse Practitioners, and the Pediatric Section of the American Physical Therapy Association, the brochure is an invaluable tool for tracking a child’s developmental milestones. This brochure is offered in more than 15 languages, and can be downloaded for FREE. More than three million print copies have been distributed and millions more have been downloaded.
Pathways.org also shares information with health professionals about detecting early motor delays through its Course to Go program and through live presentations at family medicine and pediatric residency programs in the Chicago area. These educational programs cover typical/atypical infant development and the importance of tummy time. To date more than 400 of the ‘Course to Go’ tools have been distributed worldwide and 87 residency presentations have been conducted. Visit Pathways.org for additional free resources on children’s motor, sensory, and communication development
1White-Traut R. Early Motor Delays. Advance Health Care Network for Nurses. 2007:5(2);27.
Melissa Eichstead
312-893-6620
About Pathways.org
Founded in 1985, Pathways.org empowers parents and health professionals with free educational resources on the benefit of early detection and early therapy for children’s motor, sensory, and communication development. For more information, visit www.pathways.org or email friends@pathways.org. Pathways is a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization.