Photo:
Kindering
For many parents, high school or college graduations are the most important ceremonies they'll attend with their kids. But for parents like Destiney and David Noor of Redmond, their son Benton's graduation from early intervention services this week was an even more meaningful milestone.
During the graduation, Destiney and David spoke about how their son’s therapists and staff were fully committed to helping him reach his greatest potential, and supported the whole family along the way.
Destiney credits the support and education she's received through early intervention with changing her perspective on everything from raising kids to politics. “I have changed how I vote, how I talk and advocate for others, it’s changed how I parent and how I interact with other children," she says.
This year Kindering celebrated its 55th graduating class – the largest to date, with 767 3-year-old graduates speaking 51 different home languages. Enrollment has risen since opening a Bothell campus in 2014, but unmet need persists. Kindering will be adding a third campus in Renton later this year to expand access and deepen services for South King County families.
Early treatment of developmental difficulties makes a life-changing difference for a child with special needs. 85 percent of brain development occurs in a child’s first three years of life. Birth to three is the crucial window for providing infants and toddlers with special needs the best chance for success later in life. And, thanks to Kindering and other early intervention centers, kids like Benton have bright futures.
