Playing for Progress

Mason is pointing to the airplanes outside the airport 

Mason has been enrolled in Easter Seals Greater Houston’s Early Childhood Intervention Program for 5 months and he has been receiving Specialized Skills training. When he started the program, he was only saying 2 words and he was not pretending or wanting to interact much with others. Playing pretend is such a big part of language development and a fun way for our Early Childhood Intervention Specialists to work on so many skills with our clients.

Now Mason is very engaged with his parents and his sister. He will come to them and pull them over to join him in play. He enjoys pretending with his toy animals and he will copy many different actions and sounds with them . He also enjoys stacking blocks and counting them and having races with his sister where he will say “ready set go” for them to start. He has a vocabulary of over 30 words and is starting to put words together and he is beginning to use words more consistently to get his needs met. His parents are very happy and excited about his progress and feel that he is now prepared to start school when he turns 3.

“I want to thank the ECI Program and Heather Zamora (his Early Intervention Specialist). Thanks to their services, today I can say that Mason is reaching the goal. Every day I can see his improvement. I feel satisfied with the program’s services.” -Mason’s Mom

The time from birth to age three is critical in your child’s physical and cognitive development.  To help make sure your baby is reaching their developmental milestones, you can complete this free Ages & Stages Questionnaire or check with your pediatrician if you have concerns. Learn more about Easter Seals Greater Houston’s Early Childhood Intervention Program!

“Running” In the Right Direction

We had the privilege of joining Easter Seals Greater Houston’s Early Childhood Intervention Infant Program in December 2019. My daughter was around 13-months-old and was unable to sit up, feed herself, or communicate at all. Her pediatrician was concerned about her lack of progress and recommended that I look into Easter Seals Greater Houston.

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Easter Seals immediately got me in for an evaluation and promptly had me set up with a case worker named Sarah Summers that works in the Infant Program. Based on our income we were given the general cost for her therapies (before insurance). I cannot emphasize enough how relieved we were to hear this! We now knew the price it would cost, instead of dreading a bunch of medical bills piling up. Together, we decided she needed 5 different therapies/therapists to guide us as to what to do to help our daughter. Each time we saw one of her therapists they came up with new exercises for us to practice with her until we saw that therapist again. We immediately started seeing results! Over the next six months she had progressed in all levels. We actually started to not need some of the therapies/therapists because they had done an amazing job and she was no longer struggling in that area. Our biggest area of concern, when starting the program, was her lack of movement. Once we started working with Easter Seals ECI Program she was able to sit up within a month, crawling in 2-3 months, and by 6 months was able to walk. This is beyond what we could have expected!

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Currently, my daughter is speaking and understanding all sorts of words and phrases. She feeds herself at every meal and is basically “running” to keep up with her big brother. Without Easter Seals ECI Program none of this would have been possible. For us as parents, we were at a loss as to what to do to help our child. Easter Seals helped guide us in very specific ways to get her moving in the right direction and I am so grateful to have been a part of this wonderful program.      

-Lindsay F

Tracking your child’s development can be difficult for the most attentive parent. Easter Seals Greater Houston’s ECI Program is still providing all services via tele-therapy including evaluations. Call Alicia at 713.838.9050 ext. 385 to schedule a free evaluation and to check on your child’s milestones.

It Takes A Village of Great Therapists

Our family is a little sad, but completely proud to have our son graduate from Easter Seals Greater Houston’s Early Childhood Intervention Program. We are so very grateful to have had the wonderful team that Easter Seals Greater Houston’s Early Childhood Intervention Program provided.  After our son John’s long NICU stay he began receiving outstanding therapy from Easter Seals ECI team. First of all I’d like to thank Aliza. At any time I could call you with any issue or concern. You never failed to provide me with resolutions for my concerns. You had John’s best interest at heart. Thank you!

Lisa Rand. I could always talk to her about sensory issues with John. You sent me texts on your free time with videos that really did work for John. It was such a joy to have you in our home. We always looked forward to all the goodies you had in your bag. With your therapy sessions John can take on anything! Thank you!

Jennifer Miller. We worked with you for a little while, but we were more than ecstatic to have you teach John to say those hard to speak letters (like B and P).  You are a wonderful therapist, mom and friend! John says more sentences because of you! Thank you! 

Neice Thomas. You were such a gentle therapist. Your patience with John made me so thankful to you. He touches Play-Doh and slime without issue! Thank you!

Lastly, Andy Fry. It was always a nice getaway for John. To meet other children with similar issues. Your Family Day Out Program was so fun! What you do for the children and parents is great. Thank you!

We will continue to do the Walk With Me with Easter Seals Greater Houston once it is safe for us all to do so. We certainly do miss ECI!  Thank you again for all the work that was put in for John.

Sincerely,

Monique Stuart
John Stuart
Curtis Stuart

Easter Seals Greater Houston’s ECI Program is still providing all services via tele-therapy including evaluations. Call Alicia at 713.838.9050 ext. 385 to schedule a free evaluation and to check on your child’s milestones.

A – to – Zephyr!

Congratulations to Zephyr who officially “graduated” from the Easter Seals Greater Houston Early Childhood Intervention Program on Friday August 28^th!  Zephyr has been working hard in Speech Therapy with Jennifer Miller as his Speech-Language Pathologist and with his mom.

The following was written by Zephyr’s mom, Scarlett.

Zephyr was not verbally communicating much when he turned 12 months old. By our 18^th month check-up with our pediatrician, it was recommended we get in touch with Early Childhood Intervention services. With the help of Jennifer, our assigned speech-language pathologist, and Alicia, Easter Seals Greater Houston’s service coordinator, we were able to get Zephyr back on track to his developmental stage just after his 2^nd birthday. In these short months, I have watched his exponential growth in speech and it could not have been possible without the help and dedication of the Easter Seals ECI team with twice a month sessions even with COVID-19, although services needed to be virtual. The bond we have formed has been amazing, not only did my son looked forward to these meetings but so did I. I know they are only looking out for our well-being and the impact they have made in our lives will always be remembered and appreciated!

Thank you!

Scarlett P.

Easter Seals Greater Houston’s ECI Program is still providing all services via tele-therapy, including evaluations. Call Alicia at 713.838.9050 ext. 385 to schedule a free evaluation and to check on your child’s milestones.