|
04-03-2007
Testimony on House Bill 119 - Pamela Staff
Testimony on House Bill 119
Before the House Human Services Subcommittee
4/3/07
Presented by Pamela Staff
Mr. Chairman and members of the House Human Services Subcommittee, my name is Pam Staff and I feel honored to be in front of you today . Thank you for the opportunity to share my experience with Help Me Grow and to help you understand the importance of having this available to families across Ohio.
My husband Mark and I are the proud parents of rambunctious 5 year old Katie and 7 year old future engineer Samuel. When the nurse from HMG arrived at my house just days after giving birth to Samuel she brought with her a warm smile and provided a great sense of relief that I was indeed doing a great job. She was full of tips including answering many questions I don’t think I may have asked anyone else with such ease. It was only three weeks later that we again benefited from the Help Me Grow program after reading about the research study that was being conducted locally, A Bright Beginning, in their monthly publication “Growing together“. Upon reading about the program, we learned about the control group that would be receiving monthly newsletters and would be invited to share in many family events including monthly group meetings with other families in the program. Wow, even the control group sounded like a great opportunity. However, we were lucky to be apart of the study group and we received a parent educator that arrived with compassion, handouts with pages of educational/age appropriate tips and a bag a goodies every month for 36 months.
We continued to benefit from the programs at HMG when Samuel about 3 years old. Samuel’s speech, in my opinion, was not like his other three year old open gym buddies and play dates. I tried to keep positive, but having learned so much about the importance of 0-3 years I contacted my pediatrician to ask for an evaluation. I was told the soonest he would go for a screening was at five years old for kindergarten and that I really shouldn’t worry, but I did. I went home that morning feeling put off and helpless. That afternoon,
I called HMG and they once again provided us with more resources than we could have ever imagined. They organized for Samuel to see a speech therapist, an audiologist and to have several evaluations for comprehension and motor skills. We were sent home with books, pamphlets and the knowledge that with specific exercises he would catch up in no time and, if not, many other resources existed to help him get there. We then were provided with two additional follow-up appointments with a speech therapist who coached us on how to help Sam and work on his speech at home.
My daughter Katie has also benefited from HMG, mainly because we felt more confident as parents the second time around as a result of the skills that I had learned from the program. I always feel confident referring other parents to this program as I have done countless times, mainly because I know that if HMG can’t help, they will do everything in their power to find someone who can.
I cannot express to you the importance of the HMG program and how important your funding is to the future children and parents of the state of Ohio. I personally know many families that have been greatly impacted by this program and your funding provides families the resources during the most developmentally important time in a child’s life. Your continued financial support is imperative for this program to provide the services that every child deserves, every parent wants to provide and that HMG so successfully provides year after year. Thank you.
|
