Early Childhood CARES April 2017 e-News

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April 2017
  Welcome Back from Spring Break!

Services will resume on Tuesday April 11 and will run through Wednesday June 14. 

We hope you're enjoying the spring and are getting more opportunities to play with your kids outside. Here are a few ideas for outdoor play:
  • Go on a nature scavenger hunt.
  • Let your child help you plant a garden, or just play in the dirt.
  • Play freeze tag.
  • Take a walk with other parents and kids. Plan your own walk with friends or connect with Hike It Baby.

Tips for Encouraging Picky Eaters to Try New Foods

By Cheryl Kurchin Chapman, M.A., OTR/L
Partially adapted from Understanding and Expanding your Child's Diet by Lisa Lewis, P.h.D.

Young children are often picky eaters, but some children may take pickiness to the extreme. Children who severely limit their food intake are known as resistant eaters. Often these children do not eat from all of the food groups: 1) grains, 2) vegetables and fruits, 3) milk, cheese and yogurt, and 4) meat, fish beans and eggs.

Our senses are vital to our enjoyment of food — smell, taste, textures, and flavors are all subject to interpretation. To eat and enjoy our food, our sensory system must make sense of all of the information. If our tactile (touch) system is oversensitive, foods of particular textures or temperatures may be intolerable. Appearance of food is critical for some children; it could taste awful, but if the food looks right, these kids may eat it. Some children have a need for sameness that causes them to eat only a few familiar foods. Here are a few suggestions to try when introducing new foods.

  • Introduce new foods before removing old ones. Familiar foods should not suddenly disappear. Always have at least one familiar food on the plate.

  • Try to determine what food trait is limiting your child’s diet:

    Is it texture? Try new foods that are similar in texture to foods that she already accepts. Example: child eats Fruit Loops Cereal — substitute with whole grain Cheerios as a healthier choice (both are crunchy). Won’t eat crunchy foods?
    Try yogurt, puddings, or purees to make a similar texture to start with. By doing this, you can control the texture and gradually make changes.

    Is appearance the limiting factor? (Child eats chicken nuggets but only from McDonalds, for example.) Make chicken nuggets at home that is similar in appearance and place it in the container. Sometimes that is enough. Once your child accepts that, take the food out of the container and place it on a plate, but leave the package near by. The goal is to serve the food without the package.

  • Make slight changes in the presentation of well-accepted familiar foods. Try cutting the bread in squares or diagonals or serving peanut butter on a different kind of cracker. Buy a different shape or brand of a favorite item. By doing this, we are helping children to see different foods in different forms, as well as trying to avoid getting them stuck on one particular brand, color, shape or food item.

  • Don’t give up presenting a food, even if your child has rejected it many, many times.

  • Include your child in food preparation or shopping: whatever is appropriate for his developmental level. Very young children can go to the store and hold onto an apple or orange and help you place it in your basket. Very young children can help tear lettuce or stir something (even with help.) This exposes children to smells, tastes, and food related experiences that can help them get used to a new food. Offer three meals and two snacks per day, even if not successful.

  • Do not hesitate to call your pediatrician or family doctor if you have concerns about your child’s health, nutrition, or growth.

    For more help on this topic, come to our April 29 Parent Chat, Strategies for Dealing with Picky Eaters. We'll be meeting from 10-noon in the Clinical Services Building, 901 E 18th Avenue Eugene, Rm. 145. RSVP to Carla at 541-346-2578. Free childcare is available but you must pre-register.

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Early Childhood CARES is Moving!

We're thrilled to announce that we recently purchased the Eugene Hearing and Speech Building, located on West 12th Street near Chambers. We have outgrown our current space, and are looking forward to having enough office space and parking for all of our 150 employees. It will also mean easier parking for families, and maybe some parent events on site. The move will happen over the summer.
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Legislative Update from Judy Newman

On Wednesday, March 15 at 8:30 am the Education Sub-committee of the Joint Committee on Ways and Means held public testimony on SB 5516, the Oregon Department of Education “Grant in Aid” budget bill, which contains the budget for EI/ECSE programs.

Several parents from around the state testified to legislators regarding EI/ECSE funding.  The testimonies focused on the importance of EI/ECSE services so they don’t make further cuts to already underfunded EI/ECSE programs that are unable to provide the levels of service that children and families need.

Guadalupe Moreno from Early Childhood CARES presented testimony from a Eugene parent receiving EI/ECSE services because the parent became ill the day before and could not make the trip to Salem. She did VERY well and her comments were well received. Several other parents from Early Childhood CARES e-mailed their comments to the legislators. Thank you to all who took the time to do this, it does make a huge difference! Your real life stories make the need for our services so much more understandable. Thank you so much!

Are you ready to advocate? Here’s what you can do next: Advocacy Day is April 10th from 10 am - noon  in Salem at the Capitol. All parents and children are welcome. You will learn how to talk with legislators and tell your personal story. It is fun and interesting. If you want more information, sign up for the AEI newsletter. Details will be sent out. We have also posted a link to this event on the Early Childhood CARES Facebook page.

Or just sign up to stay informed about what is happening and you will also learn of other actions that are needed. Thanks again for any help you can give.

To stay updated, connect with the Oregon Alliance for Early Intervention.
Email: contact@oregonaei.org   Website: www.oregonaei.org

 On April 29 you'll find us at the Clinical Services Building for a workshop on strategies for dealing with picky eaters from 10-noon. Our final English language parent chat of the year will be, "How to Help Your Child Become a Successful Communicator," on May 13. For Spanish-speaking families we also have a chat coming up on April 22 about setting limits on your child's behavior.
Check here for the latest updates on events with ARC Families Connected.
Save the Date for Family Fun Day!

Saturday, May 20 from 10-noon at Centennial Elementary School in Springfield. We'll have live music, games, face painting, light refreshments, and a resource fair for the parents.
Communication Q & A:

Q: Does pacifier use interfere with language development?
A: Maybe. Research results are mixed, but we do know that a child who is continually sucking a pacifier will not be spending as much time talking and babbling, which may have a negative impact on language development.

Q: Do boys talk later than girls?
A: Yes, but only a few months later.

 Q: Does learning two languages at the same time cause language delays?
A: No. Young bilingual children may mix their two languages, but that is not a sign of a delay. They may also have a smaller vocabulary in each individual language, but their total vocabulary should be comparable to the number of words spoken by a monolingual child.

  Your Family's Resource for Connecting with the Community!
  • Informative parenting articles.
  • Monthly calendar of activities to do with your kids.
  • Connect with resources across Lane County.
Resources
Early Childhood CARES Resource Guide 2016-2017    

If you would like an updated copy of the 2016-2017 Resource Guide for resources available in our community, visit our website  to download it. If you need a paper copy, contact your service coordinator or Carla at carlam@uoregon.edu.
  
Free Screening for Siblings

Parents of children receiving services from Early Childhood CARES may request a free developmental screening for younger siblings. Simply call 541-346-2578. Spanish speaking families can call 541-346-0742.

Sensory Storytime

The Eugene Public Library offers a sensory-friendly storytime on Wednesdays at 1:00 p.m. This is for kids of all ages with sensory integration issues or other special needs. 100 W. 10th Ave, Eugene.

Tax Deduction for Child with an IFSP

An Oregon tax deduction is available for families with a dependent child who has an IFSP. Parents need to have a copy of the eligibility statement for the child and a current IFSP, but these documents do NOT need to be sent with the tax form. Consult a tax professional or the Oregon Department of Revenue for more information.

Earned Income Tax Credit

The Earned Income Tax Credit is for working people with low to moderate income, and one or more dependent children. Starting this year, families claiming the EITC will not be eligible to receive their tax refund until February 15 or after. For more information, and to see if you qualify, visit this link.
About Us:
Early Childhood CARES provides early intervention and early childhood special education to infants, toddlers, and preschool-age children in Lane County. Services are individually designed to address the needs of the young child with developmental delays or disabilities. All services are free of charge to eligible children.

Early Childhood CARES 
541-346-2578 
800-925-8694 
299 E 18th Ave Eugene OR 97401