A total of 436 children graduated from Kindering’s Early Intervention Program on August 7 at Crossroads Park Pavilion as happy parents and friends looked on. The graduates received a diploma and a flower to commemorate their growth and success.
Of the 436 youngsters, 124 are from the Bellevue area.
Kindering provides birth-to-three therapy help for special needs children. When most children come to agency for the first time, the chance they will learn to walk, crawl, or even swallow may seem remote.
“Our experience at Kindering has been nothing short of a miracle in our lives,” said Lola Ryan, whose twins were born two months early.
Both boys experienced speech delays and one had an ICU stay that may have caused the social fears he experienced during his first two years, Ryan said. Kindering provided the family toddler/preschool classes and home visits from a speech therapist.
“Our boys will soon enter pre-K in the Bellevue school system as typically developing students, with much credit to the intervention and assistance from Kindering,” Ryan added.
Started in 1962 in a church basement as the Eastside Preschool for the Special Child, Kindering is the only provider of such services for families on the Eastside. Today, Kindering is the largest neurodevelopmental center in the Northwest, helping more than 3,500 children and their families annually.
“To maximize a child’s potential, early treatment is profoundly important,” said Kindering Executive Director Mimi Siegel. “Research shows that early intervention in the lives of these children correlates with higher lifetime achievement, reduced need for special services later on, and a happier and more fulfilling life overall.”
At the end of their time with Kindering, 99 percent of graduates show measurable progress in development, and 38 percent of kids no longer require special education services because they have bridged the gap between them and their peers.
Individualized programs at Kindering include physical and speech therapy, special education, family counseling, a nutrition and feeding team, integrated Spanish programs, parent-child in-home programs, social support programs for children with Autism, parenting and sibling support and training, and specialized foster care for children who are developmentally disabled, medically fragile, or generally at risk because of abuse or neglect. These programs continue to grow and improve every year.
More information about Kindering is available at 425-747-4004 or at kindering.org.
Henry (right) and Herold (left) Ryan, new graduates, and their parents, Lola Ryan and Rodney Ryan. COURTESY PHOTO, Alex Brechner
New graduate Eddie Ccasini. COURTESY PHOTO, Alex Brechner
Kindering Executive Director Mimi Siegel. COURTESY PHOTO, Alex Brechner
