Talgo-Bishop is here to help kids and families

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Thuy Talgo-Bishop wants everyone in the San Carlos Apache Nation to know who she is and what she can do for the little kids and their families. She can be found at events and in neighborhoods all over - San Carlos. She spreads the word to kids and adults about how to protect their eyes and ears in addition to screening children, one through 5 years of age, for eye and ear problems and for lagging developmental markers.

It is a screening not a diagnosis, she insists. She works through a grant from the U of A to First Things First. And she is a person who can help families navigate all the services which some kids need if they are to arrive at kindergarten able to learn properly.

She is helped by ingenious ways of checking even infants’ eyes and ears. A checklist for each age group helps Talgo-Bishop and parents to assess the progress kids have made in talking and listening skills, motor skills, problem-solving and social skills.

If problems are detected, she can refer the family to any one of several agencies so that they are not locked into one Doctor or agency.

And what she would like most for everyone to know is that they can make a positive impact on the lives of their children, grandchildren, nieces and nephews and even neighborhood children. Just listening and talking to them can cause good things to happen, as can intervening early before kids can fall behind in kindergarten.