KAILUA-KONA — Six weeks premature, Jeremiah Kailiawa was born in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit at Oahu’s Kapiolani Hospital. After seven long months in the hospital, he needed help to avoid falling behind in his development.
Luckily, when the family finally returned home to the Big Island, Family Support Hawaii (FSH) was there to boost his progress.
Via FSH’s Early Intervention Services Program, occupational therapists visited the Kailiawa home weekly, cultivating Jeremiah’s motor skills to get him crawling, walking and talking.
The therapists not only worked directly with Jeremiah, but also with his mother, Leilani Kailiawa.
“It’s a coaching model, and they basically teach the parents skills,” explained Heidi Ilyavi, human resources and accounting specialist at FSH. “We’re not in there to teach the child, we are there to empower the parents. We set goals and work on the goals.”
Central to Jeremiah’s speech development were books.
“I can’t tell you how much my therapist would just read books,” said Leilani.
One that was frequently read to Jeremiah was, “That’s Not My Owl,” an interactive book that allows readers to touch and feel characters as the story unfolds. As a result, one of Jeremiah’s first words was, “owl,” Leilani remembered.
“Even with one book, with the repetition, that’s how language is developed,” she said.
And Leilani, grateful for FSH’s assistance, wanted to give back to the nonprofit that helps families in need as a way to say thank you.
It is only fitting, given how Jeremiah achieved his progress, that that Leilani returned the favor with the gift of stories.
Leilani, an independent consultant for Usborne Books &More, partnered with the company and Catherine Abellera, program manager for FSH’s North/Kona Child Development program, to raise through the company’s grant program $1,223 in new books as of March.
It didn’t stop there. FSH also partnered with local nonprofit, Ohana 100, so that children in the FSH Early Head Start program were able to receive a free book for their home libraries as well.
The ramifications of reading reach beyond the pages, with research suggesting that reading to and with young children is one the best predictors of later educational success.
Justin Jansen, adult literacy program manager at Hawaii Literacy, highlighted the importance of being read to at a young age.
“There’s extensive research and proven research that there’s a window of opportunity for school age children. If kids are not exposed to (being read to, reading on their own) at a young age, they have a hard time and it’s unlikely for them to catch back up when it comes to being able to succeed at school,” he explained.
And catching back up is an issue in Hawaii, with one in six adults in the state struggling to read and write, according to Hawaii Literacy.
Now, at 25 months, Jeremiah has demonstrated dramatic improvement.
“Mentally, he’s doing great,” said his mother.
“His motor skills are moving along, he was just dancing,” said Ilyavi.
But with a year remaining for Jeremiah in the program, FSH still has work to do. Of late, he hasn’t seemed interested in eating, for example.
“It’s a slow process, but we’ll get there,” Leilani said. “Occupational therapists help with the feeding, every time she comes we’ll have a feeding session.”
Those eligible for FSH’s Early Head Start Program are teen parents, foster parents, families living below the poverty level, and those receiving Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) benefits, or Social Security Income benefits.
FSH Early Head Start reaches the districts of North and South Kona, Waikoloa, North and South Kohala, and Honokaa.
FSH provides the community with a wide range of services, including nutrition services, family planning services, prenatal care, and childcare. Right now, FSH is heading a fatherhood initiative to promote quality father-child relationships.
“Funds are always needed although we get state and federal assistance,” said Ilyavi.
Ilyavi said that if FSH cannot offer the services that a family needs, FSH will direct families to the proper resources. “We don’t want anyone to feel left out in a time of need,” she emphasized.
“Anyone can either get the help, or give help,” said Ilyavi.
For more information on how to donate to FSH: https://familysupporthawaii.org/