Kindering nurtures young ones and families | Community Spirit

On a recent tour of the Kindering Center near Crossroads Shopping Center, we learned lots about early childhood intervention. We learned how the infants to three-year-olds served here are disabled, medically fragile or are vulnerable due to abuse and neglect.

Some of these tots have disabilities with big, scary names such as Autism Spectrum Disorder, Spina Bifida, chromosomal abnormalities and congenital heart failure.

The founding premise of the not-for-profit neurodevelopmental center is that early learning is critical to the child’s development, explained parent volunteer Steve Showalter, whose son Ross attended Kindering as a toddler and is now finishing high school on Mercer Island.

“For the child with special needs, the key to change is early intervention,” said Showalter, who added that 36 percent of Kindering’s children are able to enter the system and no longer need special services.

About once a month volunteers like Showalter and Kindering staff take parents, foster parents and interested citizens on an hour-long tour of the program called the Walk of Courage. Guests see the classrooms, dozens of cute, happy kids and dedicated teachers working in small groups or one-on-one with toddlers.

We noticed a number of swings hanging from the ceiling, which a therapist explained is a great source of fun and movement for the children. Best of all, the motion increases arousal, which in turn stimulates verbal and motor skills.

In the feeding room we learned that not all babies and children like or want to eat. So, here at Kindering learning to accept food and liquids is a serious matter.  Using the latest research, experience and patience, they analyze each child’s issues and develop strategies to help make eating, or talking or moving for that matter, a positive part of the child’s world. 

Senior Development Officer Joe Cunningham gave us a few facts and figures. Kindering was founded in 1962. In the years between 2000 and 2005 Kindering’s population grew by 250 percent. In 2010 more than 3,200 children and their families received intervention, special education and family therapy.

We also learned that it costs about $12,000 a year to serve each child. About two-thirds of that amount is covered by government funds, but that leaves a $4,000 gap.  

“The community always rises to the challenge,” said Kennedy, who is father of an autistic child who attended Kindering. “As we increase the number of children served, it costs more and it takes a lot of hard work and generous support to offer this level of service.”

Bellevue Kindering has received many awards and is considered a national model for comprehensive Early Intervention (EI) programs.