IRVECA Board Elects New Member
Iowa River Valley Early Childhood Area Board, which serves families and children prenatal through
age five in Hardin and Marshall County is proud to announce it has elected a new Board Member,
Jennifer Holmes to a three-year term.
Jennifer has been with the Iowa Falls State Bank since 2017 and is the bank’s Compliance Officer.
She is responsible for additional areas of responsibility including security and fraud coordination.
Banking is not the first career for Jennifer, retiring from the Story County Sheriff’s Office in 2012
as Sergeant. Prior to working at the bank, Jennifer was an assistant teacher with the Christian
Edu-Care Preschool in Iowa Falls until its closing.
Jennifer holds an M.S. in Criminal Justice and considers herself a lifelong learner as she has
navigated career paths from law enforcement to early childhood education and now banking.
She lives with her mom, Margaret on their family acreage North of Alden. She currently teaches Sunday School at the First Christian Church in Iowa Falls for children under 12.
When asked why Jennifer joined the Board she said, “The Iowa River Valley Early Childhood Area Board was an important part of the success of Christian Edu-Care and the early childhood initiatives are so meaningful to me. I look forward to supporting and participating in activities as a board member.”
Jennifer has already proven herself to be a valuable member by volunteering for local community outreach projects, joining the fiscal oversight committee, and bringing her expertise to Board discussions. We are so glad she has joined our Board!
Autism in Early Childhood
Building Blocks (Column Title)
Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a developmental disability that can cause significant social, communication, and behavioral challenges. People with ASD may communicate, interact, behave, and learn in ways that are different from other people. Their learning, thinking, and problem-solving abilities can range from gifted to severely challenged. Some people with ASD need a lot of help in their daily lives while others need less. Signs of ASD begin during early childhood and typically last throughout a person’s life.
Signs of Autism focus on communication, social, interests, and behavioral issues. Some of the basic signs can include, but are not limited to: delayed speech and language skills, repeating words or phrases over and over, reversing pronouns (saying “you” instead of “I”), does not point or respond to pointing, use few or no gestures (does not wave goodbye), does not respond to their name by 12 months, avoids eye contact, prefers to play alone, has flat or inappropriate facial expressions, avoids or resists physical contact, plays with toys in the same way, every time, likes parts of objects, like wheels of cars, gets upset by minor changes, has obsessive interests, flaps hands, rocks body, or spins self in circles, causes self-injury, lack of fear or more fear than expected and unusual reaction to the way things sounds, smell, taste, look, or feel.
If you are concerned that your child may have Autism, please consider taking the following steps.
- Talk with your child’s doctor or nurse.
- If your child is younger than three years old, call Early ACCESS at 1-888-425-4371 or visit https://educateiowa.gov/pk-12/early-childhood/early-access
- If your child is three years or older, call your local school or Area Education Agency (AEA) or visit http://www.iowaaea.org/
For additional support you can also contact the Iowa Regional Autism Assistance Program at 866-219-9119, ext. 1, email: Iowa-RAP@uiowa.edu or visit their website at https://chsciowa.org/RAP.
Addressing concerns early on is the first step in helping set your child up for success!
Carrie Kube
Iowa River Valley Early Childhood Area Director
iarivervalleyeca@gmail.com
www.iowarivervalleyeca.com
Disclosure: Carrie Kube is a Director for the Iowa River Valley Early Childhood Area Board. All thoughts and opinions expressed are that of the author and not the Board and/or its community partners.
Iowa River Valley Early Childhood Area
ensuring success in children age 0-5 in hardin and marshall county, iowa