SUCCESS STORY

Miami Head Start

Lead Poisoning

In December, I noticed that my daughter Ava started acting differently. She was always crying, eating less, and hitting herself. At first, I didn’t think too much about it. I thought she was crying and eating due to teething. I also thought she was hitting herself out of frustration. At the time she was due for her lead, iron, and hearing tests. She passed her other test, but had a very high lead level which concerned me.

I made an appointment with her doctor and had her tested again. Her levels were still way too high. I asked questions to her doctor and to her Head Start Home Base teacher. They gave me information about different things that have lead such as food, toys, and walls. I bought lead testing strips and started testing everything. I got rid of lots of toys – everything made in a different country contains lead. I stopped giving her food with lead. Our walls didn’t contain lead, but we still tested them. After getting rid of all things containing lead, Ava started acting normally. Lead can affect a child’s physical and mental behavior.