Reading is Fundamental

Kiwanis Club of Ooltewah-Collegedale

4 days ago

Our speaker this week will be Ms. Janelle Reilly, CEO of Common Spirit Memorial Chattanooga. We look forward to learning about the current services provided by this 72 year faith-based organization, Common Spirit Memorial.

Janelle Reilly is the Market President for CommonSpirit Health in Tennessee and Georgia, overseeing operations for CHI Memorial and leading regional expansion efforts. With over 30 years in healthcare, she has driven significant safety improvements, including 5-star rankings and Leapfrog "A" grades. ... See MoreSee Less

Kiwanis Club of Ooltewah-Collegedale

3 weeks ago

With our upcoming Annual Fundraiser around the corner, our charities are coming to visit and share their accomplishments of the past year. Two weeks ago, Siskin came and truly blew our minds when we heard how our funds were used this past year.

Kiwanis Fore The Kids is proud to support the Siskin Children’s Institute as one of our annual charitable partners. Siskin is at the forefront of developing and implementing innovative technology that enables earlier and more accurate detection of autism spectrum disorder.

Last year, Kiwanis helped fund a lending library for an advanced diagnostic device that is not currently covered by insurance. This technology — the EarliPoint Eye Movement Tracking System — uses eye-tracking measurements to help identify autism in very young children, allowing intervention to begin significantly earlier and more effectively. Because of its cost, many families cannot access the device, so the lending library makes it available to children on a waiting list.

EarliPoint can detect autism in children as young as 16 months old. During the assessment, a child watches short videos on a tablet while the system tracks eye movements approximately 120 times per second. The resulting visual patterns are mapped and analyzed, producing results in fewer than 20 minutes. By comparison, traditional autism diagnostic evaluations often take 90 minutes or longer and rely primarily on behavioral observation.

Unlike standard assessments, EarliPoint measures a biological marker. Children with autism tend to visually engage with objects rather than faces or social cues in the same way typically developing children do. This measurable difference allows clinicians to identify developmental concerns much earlier.

Autism spectrum disorder affects communication, social interaction, and behavior. Approximately 1 in 31 eight-year-old children — about 3.2% — are diagnosed with autism. The average age of diagnosis is between five and six years old, even though much of brain development occurs before age four. Because diagnosis often follows missed developmental milestones, treatment typically begins later than ideal.

EarliPoint is the first clinically validated tool capable not only of identifying autism early but also indicating its level of severity. Fewer than 20% of children currently receive an autism diagnosis before age three. Earlier identification allows providers to begin therapy during the most critical developmental window, significantly improving long-term outcomes and, in some cases, substantially reducing the impact of the condition.

Siskin Children’s Institute is funding this pilot program through community support, including Kiwanis and other donors through the annual StarNight fundraiser, since insurance reimbursement is not yet available. Siskin is one of the largest developmental pediatric practices in the country, and its work is made possible through the generosity of the community.

By supporting Kiwanis, you are helping Siskin expand this groundbreaking program and bring life-changing early intervention to more children and families.

Donate to our Kiwanis Annual Fundraiser at k4k.kiwanisoc.com ... See MoreSee Less