New Program Helps Parents Track Child Development

WOODLAND (CBS13) – Three-year-old Evelyn is having a blast, she's loving her play time – but this play time is actually therapy.

"Whatever she's doing here is playing, but what we're doing is teaching her how to say words, how to move her hands, how to climb, how to identify colors," said Christina Michel-Albers with the Northern California Children's Therapy Center.

This new program called Help Me Grow Yolo is giving parents help when wondering if their child is developing in a typical fashion

"We develop a plan for each individual child specific to their needs," Michel-Albers said.

For Evelyn, who was in the hospital for two months after birth, it has helped her with speech.

"As you can see, they try to show them different colors and how to pronounce them," said Evelyn's father Manuel.

Experts say by the age of three, 85 percent of the brain is developed.

"But before the brain is fully developed, we can actually change the way child brain works through intervention," Michel-Albers said.

For families, Help Me Grow Yolo can help answer what could be nagging questions about just how their child is growing.

Help Me Grow Yolo provides free developmental screening for children newborn to age 5.