Colton Taylor was 18 months old when he was demonstrating a few developmental problems. It is also when his family called on Sunflower’s Early Education Center (EEC).

            Today, Colton is meeting his developmental milestones and his mom, Nicole Taylor, couldn’t be happier – or more relieved.

            “Sunflower helped our son when we weren’t sure what to do,” Nicole said. “Everyone at the early ed center was just as committed as we were to bringing Colton to his highest potential.

            “We are truly blessed to have had Sunflower helping our family through this unique situation,” she added.

            The EEC serves children with developmental delays and disabilities age birth to 3 at no cost to families. Because Colton recently turned 3, he has “graduated” from the EEC.

            Kylie Moritz, the EEC’s speech/language pathologist, was one member of the Sunflower team that provided services to the Great Bend boy.

            “When Colton came to us he was walking with stiff legs and constantly falling down,” Moritz recalled. “He was not yet using words to communicate, and he had difficulty understanding and locating common objects such as his shoes or cup.”

            That was then and this is now.

            “Colton has improved tremendously in all areas of his development,” Moritz said. “He is walking and running, without falling down.”

            The toddler also is now age-appropriate in speech and language, and using three- and four-word sentences.

            He knows most of his colors, shapes, numbers and letters, and is using utensils to eat a variety of foods.

            Colton’s mom noted that her son was born nearly 8 weeks prematurely and she was concerned about developmental deficits in speech and motor skills.

            “After working hard with Sunflower, we can now say that he is no longer delayed in speech, and his motor skills have greatly improved,” Nicole said. “Colton surprises me every day with new phrases and big words.”

            Sunflower’s EEC is part of the tiny-k network in Kansas that provides early intervention services for infants and toddlers at no charge to families. Its service area includes Barton, Pawnee, Rice, Rush and Stafford counties.