“Once my daughter, Harper, was diagnosed with Autism I knew we needed help! When we first met with Easter Seals Greater Houston’sEarly Childhood Intervention Infant Program my child could not communicate. Harper would scream, throw fits, and have meltdowns as she could not tell us what her wants or needs were. She could not and would not point or show us what she wanted. She was also an extremely picky eater, refusing to try any new foods. Experiencing anything new was overwhelming for Harper. She was withdrawn and preferred to play on her own than with the family. I never heard her say mama or experienced those awesome baby/toddler kisses and reading books together.
After Ashley and Jessica from Easter SealsECI Program started working with her I began to see positive changes in Harper. She started signing which resulted in less meltdowns and fits in our house. As time went on, she started to allow her siblings to play with her and she would laugh with them instead of screaming and taking off. She started tolerating new textures and touching things and exploring in her environment. Though she remained cautious this was a huge accomplishment!
This amazing little girl has continued to improve. Even though she still is not talking verbally she can communicate what she wants to us by pointing and taking us to where she wants to be (often to the freezer for her popsicles and to turn on her favorite toy). She plays with her siblings (they are ages 16, 14 and 9) and we even hear belly laughs now and again, something I previously took for granted. I got my first kiss from her at 2 1/2. She is happy to see me when I come home. I now know without a doubt she knows I am her momma and I know that sounds crazy, but I was unsure as she didn’t react me.
This is just a summary of how far she has come. Everyday is a new day with a child with Autism and not always sunshine and rainbows. She will always have her harder days, but the tools and help we received as a family has really improved our ability to better support Harper. I honestly would never be able to put in words how happy I am with Jessica, Ashley and the entire Easter SealsECI crew. They set Harper up with a great foundation for her to continue to grow and prosper in her new chapters on this journey through life.” -Harper’s Mom
Are you concerned about your baby’s development? Easter Seals Greater Houston’sEarly Childhood Intervention services are available for children birth to 36 months who show a developmental delay, who are at risk for a delay, have a disability or atypical behaviors. Learn more.
“Fátima es una niña con espina bífida, aún recuerdo cuando los doctores me daban un diagnóstico muy desalentador, pero gracias a Dios conocí el programa de Easter Seals Greater HoustonECI. Ellos llegaron para ayudar a Fátima con las terapias. Ahora ella a logrado muchos obstáculos que le han puesto. No encuentro palabras para agradecer mi satisfacción a Sarah y Ashlea por la ayuda que me han brindado. Ahora Fátima es una niña muy feliz a su corta edad y espero que sus terapias le ayuden en un futuro a caminar por si sola.”
“Fátima is a girl with Spina Bifida. I still remember when the doctors gave me a very discouraging diagnosis, but thank God I learned about the Easter Seals Greater HoustonECI program. They came to help Fátima with the therapies. Now she has overcome many obstacles that have been placed on her. I can’t find the words to thank Sarah and Ashlea for the help they have given me. Now Fátima is a very happy girl at her young age and I hope that her therapies will help her to walk on her own in the future.”
Mason is pointing to the airplanes outside the airport
Mason has been enrolled in Easter Seals Greater Houston’sEarly 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
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 SealsECI 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!
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 SealsECI 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’sECI 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.
Our family is a little sad, but completely proud to have our son graduate from Easter Seals Greater Houston’sEarly Childhood Intervention Program. We are so very grateful to have had the wonderful team that Easter Seals Greater Houston’sEarly Childhood Intervention Program provided. After our son John’s long NICU stay he began receiving outstanding therapy from Easter SealsECI 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’sECI 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.
Congratulations to Zephyr who officially “graduated” from the Easter Seals Greater HoustonEarly Childhood Intervention Program on Friday August 28th! 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 18th 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 2nd 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 SealsECI 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’sECI 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.
Easter Seals Greater Houston 