European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - May 2, 1986, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Friday May 2, 19b6 the stars and stripes Page 9 finding kids who need help is expert s of " T ". I l i. By Joski h Owen Stuttgart , Germany Point to your hip Hup on your left foal. Cut a piece or paper in half. Make a Pyramid of plastic blocks. Almost any 5-year-ofd should be Able to carry Nul those assignments. Carol Owens. Spent tuesday looking for the ones who can l. As the child development service coordinator at the . Army Dupol at  Owens organi cd n pc school screening clinic at the base recreation Conler Tor children aged 3 to 5 years old. Owens limed the Cecil to coincide with this week s Federal Observance of the week of the Young child of which she is the european coordinator the department of defense dependents schools and army Community services require that screenings be held in each Community to detect children s developmental problems before they enter school Slie said. Those problems could involve to or skills coordination behavioural medical or any other problem thai May hinder the child s learning ii school. A variety of agencies administer the lest. Parents arc not. Obliged to take their Chil Dren to the screenings but Owens encourages in based on the results of the first  screening last  the dozens of children Esami cd Hen she said More than half were referred to specialists for treatment of prob lems involving vision hearing medical conditions behaviour or speech it is the agencies responsibility16 put parents in touch with the services and the problem becomes the parents responsibility from there Owens snid she said the screening can affect the child s placement in school but Only in the sense Ilia it lips off parents and school officials la problems that would become apparent Bier anyway. Ideally this Early detection system is meant to Correct Many of Icse problems before the children enter school so their school progression will be Normal. Agency officials Are not empowered to make decisions about school placement. The screening lakes about 30 minutes. It tests inc children  Coc Roma. Tion language and writing skills ability to grasp concepts and ability to distinguish among objects of different sizes shapes and colors. Owens admitted Hal seeking a specialist s services u nol always easy and she cited her own experience As an example. Nyte a Irwin an Otsumo Hilary school special education leather tests a year old Crystal a Muccilo in . She said she had to wait five weeks la get an Eye examination for her daughter in Heidelberg  an hour s drive from her Home South of Karlsruhe. Some children need to visit specialists repeatedly to overcome developmental problems hardship in cases where serv ices Are not available near installations where their parents work said Barbara whistnant. She is n speech and language pathologist at the dodos Heidelberg educational resource Center. We would have to work on getting them a Transfer within the european com Mand whistnant said. Unfortunately those transfers Don l occur overnight. They usually Lake about six  she said the i Icide Borg Center does nol recommend transfers for soldiers who have less than a year to serve in their current posting. Owens said Access to expert help is bet Ter than in has been despite the limitations. The referral system has definitely improved Over the fast 12 months she said recalling an Era in which it took her two years to get help for one child who had speech and medical problems. Owens said her staff Lre so Knout about Fame children s deficiencies through Day to Day Tibie Vance at the base s child care Center and Prevc Hapl program. It s tie children who Are i in the preschool program who lend to slip through she said. Whistnant said the screening e m con tribute to a Parent s peace of mind even when the child appears to have no special  a lot Fly parents jus need to know that their kids Are Normal so la  she said terrorist threat changes Many prom plans by Mary h1adky education writer the terrorist threat has blasted Many High school seniors graduation and prom plans. Tightened Secu Rhy at . Installations through""1 Europe in the Wake of the april is air raid on Libya has prompted Community commanders and principals 10 move Slu Donl events onto base or to arrange Mas Sive Security for off base events. The change in on base locations is a big disappointment Tor american seniors in Europe who look Forward to proms and graduations in German castles and roman ruins exotic and Beautiful spots sure 10 impress the folks Back Home when you go to the states people say where did you go to your prom and you say a Castle it is different said Connie paskovics. An 8-year-old senior at Hethel Berg High school. For us a change in plans ruins it said Jim Nelson also a senior a he Intel Berg. It s our last year of High school. At Heidelberg this week students thought they would lose the Chance 10 have their May prom at a historic and Scenic site but military officials who ultimately de cide Security issues for their communities determined wednesday that seniors can go ahead with their original plans. However they will provide extremely tight Security for the event. Other students Learned this week that their Hopes for busing is As usual proms have been dashed. At Frankfurt High school plans for a Prum at a downtown site have been changed. Now students will dance and party on Post they went through the usual human reactions disappoint mint disbelief and a Lillic anger said principal Daniel Basa Rich. But they understand Why this is Hap pening. They Are nol upset with anyone. But it is b Why me  at Gen. . Arnold High school in Wiesbaden principal Roger Youngman is awaiting reaction from his students about a just announced change of prom location to a site within the american Community. You Neman said the new location was chosen for safely reasons i Don t want to assume the responsibility of having several Hundred kids out without proper  he said.  at Giessen High officials arc clicking with plans to hold the prom at a Scenic location. Military officials Are trying to be accommodating said principal Robert Kun Barefo. They Don t want us to Slop Liv  but the prom won t be quite what seniors expect for the most important social event of their High school careers. They will be driven to the location in military buses and the party will Slop at 1q30 . So seniors Are Home in time fora Midnight curfew. They certainly would prefer to have i hair prom longer Kubarek said. They would prefer to drive up there. They Are trying hard to be understanding but it docs interfere with plans they made a month  not every High school has changed its plans but officials in the Atlantic and Mediterranean regions of the department of defense dependents schools also report some switches. We have cases where principals have acted prudently said Olio Thomas special projects coordinator for Dodds my ditch Ranegan tight Security also has affected sports programs and Field trips at Dodds schools. Policy differs from Community to Community a few schools have cancelled All Field trips. Others have slopped trips to Economy locations but Are allowing trips to other military communities the biggest Impact has been on but of country trips As principals and Mili Iury leaders worry about children being far from Home. Snorting events have suffered blows especially when schools use Host nation facilities that military officials believe can t be properly secured. It s really caused havoc with our truck program because by and Large we ii Leo our track events at German Sites said Heidel Berg High school principal Louis Karlh