[Noozhawk’s note: Second in a series sponsored by the Hutton Parker Foundation. Click here for the first article.]
Santa Barbara RiteCare Childhood Language Center is busier than ever, fielding weekly calls for services since many children fell behind in language development when COVID-19 hit and schools closed.
The center, which also closed earlier in the pandemic, has kept connected with students and increasing demand with innovative solutions.
“We found that screenings stalled during the pandemic, or children were not identified as delayed, because they were not seen by pediatricians or preschools,” said Julie DeAngelis, a speech pathologist and SB RiteCare center director.
Specifically, children arrive at SB RiteCare with delays in language expression, articulation, vocabulary, grammar, social skills and with stuttering issues.
“Speech and language are how we express ourselves,” DeAngelis explained. “If a child can’t pronounce words correctly, they are difficult to understand and this impacts nearly all disciplines of life.”
The nonprofit organization, which serves more than 100 children each year, was also affected by COVID-19. Shutting its doors for 15 months, SB RiteCare made the transition to teletherapy and created innovative programs to keep students engaged and communicating.
DeAngelis worked with fellow speech pathologist and program director Summer Calvert to develop take-home packets and produce a YouTube channel, uploading hundreds of videos that enabled children to continue speech sessions through online story-times.
That was about the time that Amanda’s son, Eli, joined the program, starting at age 3 with individual teletherapy. Previously, Eli received therapy through a Santa Barbara County program, yet Amanda said the experience at SB RiteCare was more impactful, even on Zoom.
“SB RiteCare is more focused on sounds, speaking and words, and this was a big jump compared with the county, which takes a developmental, whole-child approach,” Amanda explained.
In addition, the county was not as well equipped to handle the technology shift when the coronavirus emerged.
“Eli was enthralled with Summer and her creative programs,” Amanda told Noozhawk. “She encouraged him to interact with her through the computer screen and they played games together, as I watched his speech develop. It was really miraculous.”
Her son was able to begin in-person therapy in February and according to mom, he is thriving.
“As creative and animated as Summer is on Zoom, it’s like tenfold in person!” Amanda said.
“They just have this energy at SB RiteCare, and everyone is so friendly and engaging; Eli never wants to leave.”
The Zoom sessions proved especially beneficial to Nicole and her two sons. Her older son was enrolled in Camp Chit Chat but unfortunately the program was canceled due to COVID-19. So, Nicole reached back out to SB RiteCare and they offered her kindergartener speech therapy via Zoom.
During these lessons her younger son sat near his older brother and Summer discovered that he, too, would benefit from individual therapy. Nicole’s younger son joined on Zoom with big brother to get comfortable before starting his own personal sessions online. He now gets to attend in person.
“Summer is so friendly and personable, she knows how to connect with each child,” Nicole said. “Even though they are working on language she makes it fun, like a game. My older son was sad to graduate, he wanted to continue his sessions.”
Calvert says a lot of thought goes into the lessons. Each week there is a different theme, and activities may include games, art, books, music and even an obstacle course.
“The in-person sessions are magical, the way they transform each week,” said Nicole, who added that the ability to communicate clearly with others is especially important now that her son wears a mask in school, which makes it even more difficult to be understood.
SB RiteCare, a philanthropy of the Scottish Rite of Freemasonry, has a long history of innovation, which helped guide the organization through the challenges of COVID-19.
The center opened in 1984 with just one part-time speech therapist conducting one-on-one therapy only. Today, the organization has two full-time clinicians and four core programs: individual therapy, Brain Lab, Camp Chit Chat and Super Brains. Each of these programs is highly individualized according to the child’s need.
“Our programs were developed based on the needs we saw in the community,” DeAngelis said.
Brain Labs, a software-based language program, was created 10 years ago because students aged-out of the center’s private therapy but still experienced speech delays.
“We knew that many of our students with severe articulation delay were at risk for reading delay in elementary school, so we established Brain Labs for second- to sixth-graders.”
Similarly, Super Brains, a social skills group for kindergarten and first-graders, was developed to help students navigate peer relationships in grade school, while Camp Chit Chat was designed to maintain progress during the summer months.
“Just because they graduate from our private therapy sessions (limited to preschoolers), doesn’t mean that our students don’t need our help any longer,” Calvert observed.
While SB RiteCare stays connected with students long after they graduate, the organization is also reaching out to potential incoming families.
DeAngelis and Calvert promise to contact wait-listed families within one month to conduct a comprehensive screening assessing need. This also allows them to make appropriate referrals, and provide parents and caretakers with tools they can start immediately at home to help their child.
SB RiteCare is a resource as well as a referral source, not just for their families but for the greater Santa Barbara community. It offers community health screenings and has participated in local events, including Earth Day.
“SB RiteCare is providing such a gift that each child will benefit from for a lifetime,” said Nicole, who has watched both of her sons thrive. “This allows me as a parent to feel confident that my children will be heard and understood, and that is priceless.
“SB RiteCare is an amazing local resource!”
The nonprofit SB RiteCare relies on private donations and grants from community foundations so that no child is ever turned away based on financial need. Click here for more information about SB RiteCare. Click here to make an online donation.
— Ann Pieramici is a Noozhawk contributing writer. She can be reached at news@noozhawk.com.