If it wasn’t for a tenacious school counselor in ninth grade, Jason Maxwell’s life could have taken a really different path. As a substitute, a hurried Saturday morning drive to a PSAT led him down the road to school and the opportunity to merge his love of children, talking and science right into a lifelong profession.
Today, Dr. Jason Maxwell is the chair of pediatrics at HealthPartners and the medical director at HealthPartners Como Clinic. The kindness displayed by Dr. Maxwell’s determined counselor continues to be paid forward through the doctor’s passion in serving the underserved.
On the subject of current disparities in Black and Indigenous pediatric care, there are almost too many to say. Nonetheless, the cause near to Dr. Maxwell’s heart targets one which, if narrowed now, can have a large impact on all our futures. In today’s Off the Charts, Dr. Maxwell discusses how early education and developmental screenings may give children of color the best opportunities for achievement. Take heed to the episode or read the transcript.
Compassion and care today for a brighter future tomorrow
It’s clear that Dr. Maxwell is loved and trusted by the patients and families he serves. It’s also easy to see why – the feeling is overwhelmingly mutual. “I really like what I do and I really like my patients,” says Dr. Maxwell during the podcast. “The explanation I stand up on daily basis and go to work is because I absolutely love my patients … it’s really easy while you watch these lovely children grow up and you see their strengths, you see their deficits, their opportunities. It becomes very easy to assist guide those families.”
Dr. Maxwell knows firsthand how essential it’s to have smart, caring and compassionate guidance at a young age – especially for youths limited by income instability or disparities from being in minority groups. As Dr. Maxwell says during the podcast, there may be a special need to teach and nurture the children in these communities so we will have the friends, family, workforce and leaders we want for the future.
The importance of early childhood literacy
One in all the most well-researched and disquieting disparities in developmental health is the effect of early literacy delays in a toddler’s future:
- By the time they reach kindergarten, two out of each 10 children are behind on their reading level by one 12 months, with a further two out of 10 behind by two years or more – a complete of 40% with delayed literacy by the first day of college.
- Children who’re a 12 months or more behind on their reading in kindergarten are most unlikely to catch up, continuing to lag throughout elementary school and beyond.
- Children who aren’t caught as much as reading level by third grade are six times more prone to drop out of highschool. For kids of color which can be behind, the dropout rate is eight times higher.
- At 9 to 10 years old, fourth graders that aren’t to reading level have a 66% likelihood of either ending up on welfare or incarcerated.
Soberly put, if parents, pediatricians and other community members don’t catch and correct reading problems at an early age – well before kindergarten – we’re dooming kids to a possible way forward for unemployment, reliance on public assistance and even incarceration.
Constructing the trust to do what’s needed
Fortunately, for Dr. Maxwell’s patients and other children seen by the pediatricians of HealthPartners, conversations around literacy start the earliest possible – at pregnancy. By talking about the urgency of getting and keeping kids at reading level with parents early, each families and patients understand the stakes well prematurely.
The identical importance follows developmental screenings. While the general suggestion is for youngsters to have their early childhood screen (also generally known as a kindergarten screen) by age 3, Dr. Maxwell’s patients start receiving screens at 2 months, then every visit after. This manner, successes and hurdles may be caught as soon as they develop and well prematurely. Then, the right resources may be drawn on at once and without negatively affecting the child’s healthy growth.
It’s essential work, but it surely takes trust and buy-in from everyone involved – not only parents and doctors, but school districts, county departments of health, religious organizations and community leaders all need to grasp, create and support clear messages that profit children together. It also helps when families have a consistent medical home. With regular visits, doctors can know more about families and patients, constructing context, understanding and trust. This manner, if difficult conversations are needed, families may be assured that their doctor cares for them and is doing the whole lot on behalf of their child.
As Dr. Maxwell says, we still have an extended approach to go in closing the gaps minority children face. But through standardization, dialogue, understanding, alignment and, above all, love and trust, progress is moving faster than it was 10 and even five years ago. And, as Dr. Maxwell puts it, these gaps are closing now because we’re capable of focus our energy and make it occur.
To listen to more from Dr. Maxwell, including additional statistics, success stories, modified strategies, the unintentional rallying effects of magazine covers and why his title isn’t Jason Maxwell, Dolphin Trainer, take heed to this episode of Off the Charts.