“As a former special education teacher, I felt lost and overwhelmed when trying to provide for the delays my son exhibited. The amazing therapists with Easter Seals Greater Houston’sEarly Childhood Intervention Program came in and have given us manageable, applicable ways to help our sweet Andre learn and grow! Before working with ECI, Andre rarely made eye contact and almost never responded to his name. Now, we are able to use picture cards to allow him to make choices, maintain meaningful eye contact, and he even follows a few simple commands! This is after just a few months of working with ECI therapists. They love my sweet boy so well, try to learn his specific interest and build on those, and always leave me (as the parent) feeling more encouraged by the time they leave! I am so thankful for each of our therapists and I’m looking forward to seeing how Andre will continue to progress!” – The Moore Family
Anyone can refer a child for a developmental evaluation, including parents, caregivers, friends, neighbors, doctors, and other community agencies. Learn more!
The following testimonies are from parents of children who participated in Easter Seals Greater Houston’sEarly Childhood Intervention Program. The program serves children from birth to 36 months, who have developmental delays, medical diagnoses, disabilities, or atypical behaviors. Our specialists travel to your child and work with the entire family to help little ones achieve their goals. We are so proud of all of our Early Childhood Intervention Champions like these little ones!
“When Noah first entered Easter Seals Greater Houston’sEarly Childhood Intervention (ECI) Program he was fairly far behind in his communication skills. His vocabulary was extremely limited and his frustrations when trying to communicate with us were very apparent. But thanks to all the hard work and dedication from his amazing ECI therapist, Noah’s speech began to flourish over time. They helped give us the guidance and tools we needed to help get Noah where he is today as well as how to continue to help him as he grows. Thanks to ECI and his wonderful therapist, at 2 1/2 years old Noah has reached his goals and is no longer in need of speech therapy. We can’t thank ECI enough!”
“Both my son and daughter received services through ECI. The therapists offered helpful and insightful suggestions that helped my kids progress toward their developmental goals and milestones. I appreciate the support and perspective my family received from ECI.”
We offer an array of services based on the child’s needs. Our services are provided by licensed/certified providers who have extensive experience in working with small children. Our services include but are not limited to:
Our main goal is to work with parents and caregivers in their everyday routines and natural environments where children learn best and we can support the needs of the entire family. ECI services are provided in a child’s natural environment, meaning wherever the child spends most of their day. That may be the child’s home, a caregiver’s home, or a daycare. Services may even be provided virtually or at other community locations. Easter Seals Greater Houston’sEarly Childhood Intervention/Infant Program proudly serves the following counties: Brazos, Burleson, Fort Bend, Grimes, Harris, Leon, Liberty, Madison, Montgomery, Robertson, Walker, and Washington.
“I’m going to admit, I wasn’t fully locked in to the idea of getting speech therapy for my son Pierre. I am so glad that my husband and I made the decision to go ahead and try it out. Our son had normal development but at 15 months when his little sister was born, he slowed up progression in speech. I figured it would just pass but he started to regress more and more. Thanks to Easter Seals Greater Houston’sEarly Childhood Intervention Program, he is now speaking in 3-4 word sentences, expressing his wants, and even saying thank you after getting what he wants! It has only been 2.5 months and I can’t believe his quick turnaround. My husband and I are forever grateful for Mrs. Tiller from the ECI Program for being so patient and diligent in her efforts.
Best,
Paris”
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.
I recently had the wonderful opportunity to reconnect with my now 22-month old grandson after a year of only visiting through FaceTime visits. Wow, how he had changed! It was so wonderful to see and hear him communicate with us. He uses a combination of words, phrases and gestures to request, label, protest and comment about all he sees and wants. Even the short time he was with us he learned to say his version of “green truck” a new favorite toy.
As a speech- language pathologist, I am often asked, “when should I be concerned if my child is not communicating like his friend or siblings”. I inform parents to speak with their pediatrician about their concerns and provide communication milestones.
Know the signs of common speech and language disorders in children between birth and 4 years of age, an important stage in early detection of communication disorders.
Does not smile (begins 2 months)
Does not babble (4-7 months)
Makes only a few sounds or gestures, like pointing (7-12 months)
Does not understand what others say (7 months-2 years)
Says only a few words (12-18 months)
Words are not easily understood (18 months-2 years)
Does not put words together to make sentences (1.5-3 years)
Has trouble playing and talking with other children (2-3 years)
Has trouble with early reading and writing skills (2.5-3 years)
Ways to Help with Language Disorders
Listen and respond to your child
Talk, read, and play with your child
Talk with your child in the language you are most comfortable using
Talk about what you are doing and what your child is doing
Easter Seals Greater Houston’sEarly Childhood Intervention Program has been extremely beneficial and rewarding for my children. My 2-year-old daughter started doing therapy with ECI when she was 7 months old. She couldn’t walk, talk or even roll over very well and she wasn’t sitting up at all.
Today, she is a THRIVING, SASSY, and very HEALTHY 2-year-old that can do almost everything the doctors said she would struggle doing. Her progress is definitely thanks to Easter Seals Greater Houston!! I am so thankful for her team of ECI therapists and the time and dedication they have put into making sure my KaMaya and her little sister Kamoura are at their very best.
Kamoura does physical therapy with ECI as well and has come a long way. Even though we are working on posture and walking, I have confidence that over the next few months, she will also be above and beyond what the doctors doubts she could do.
We have definitely enjoyed the relationships that have been built between my kids and their ECI therapists. I have appreciated the kindness and understanding that is always shown to my family, especially during the COVID19 pandemic. We are looking forward to seeing more progress with our girls in the next few months! God bless you all!
Special thanks to KaMaya and Kamoura’s ECI Team: Early Intervention Specialist Sarah Summers, Physical Therapist Ms. Charisse, Occupational Therapists Ms. Shama and Ms. Christy, SST teacher Ms. Kim, Nutritionist Ms. Tien, and Speech therapist Ms. Gretchen.
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. Easter Seals Greater Houston’sEarly Childhood Intervention is accepting referrals and offers tele-health as well as in-home services. Learn more!
Hello I am the parent of “Z” who has been in the Easter Seals Greater Houston’s program about year and half now. Just to provide you with a little background of this little fellow. “Z” has faced with many challenges in his year and half-life but he is a true solider and overcoming slowly. “Z” was referred by his Pediatrician to Easter Seals Greater Houston’sEarly Childhood Intervention (ECI) Program, because of torticollis at the age of 5 months. He is now 20 months; and he still deals with his “head tilt” from time to time. He was assigned to Melissa for Physical Therapy and from his assessment it indicated he had some developmental delays. He showed unbelievable progress while working with Melissa over a year and half, which has eased some of my trying times with my little one. “Z” is currently working with several ESGHECI Therapists.
Melissa has been providing therapy with my “Z” the longest and has been a great observer and excellent Physical Therapist provider. Melissa has suggested many things that she felt would help my son such as sensory activities, compression clothes, compression vest for tip-toeing, Wilbarger Brushing for sensory; all of which is helping with my son’s progress. She also suggested I speak with Jinelle about referring my son to Occupational Therapy for behavior issues that stem from sensory input along with Speech Therapy to continue meeting his milestones. Melissa also helped with sending me educational materials, head-tilt strengthening techniques, and showed me strategies to implement daily to help my son with crawling and walking. Most importantly, she educated me on how the 5 stages of developmental milestones are reached and how some delays affect the next milestones when they are not met. Not only allowing me to know that my son is progressing but also in addressing my pediatrician.
The reason for this letter is to let you know how wonderful your team at Easter Seals has been to my family and most importantly to my son “Z”. I have so much gratitude to Easter Seals and this team of ladies that words can’t explain. Jinelle (Case manager), Thein (Nutritionist), Melissa (PT), Dionise (OT), and Michelle (Speech) are a blessing. This village of a team has improved my son’s ability to function and adapt to the daily challenges he faces with delayed milestones, sensory and speech issues.
Working with the team of therapists, I have learned how all the milestones overlap/connect and how all the therapist’s roles are important, different and needed. Learning from the therapists allowed me to help my son to the fullest. Their knowledge on food selection, hands on activities techniques and being flexible with my work schedule do not go unnoticed. They all love their work, the children they serve, and they are very compassionate to parents concerns and feeling. When times were overwhelming for us, the therapists provide a listening ear while staying professional and never crossing boundaries. It felt good as a parent to have this village of professionals ease my emotions.
This team has been around since day one with my son. Jinelle has been a great case manager by providing helpful resources, connecting me to the appropriate specialists, providing me access to the weighted vest and sensory brush, and by being able to address other issues. Jinelle is the glue that holds this team together and the person making sure services are on time. Thein is awesome for making sure my child has the right nutrients and is staying on track with a healthy diet and weight gain. She suggests food selections and fluid consumptions for “Z” to help with being underweight, and helps with mapping out mealtime scheduling suggestion for home and daycare.
Dionise and Michelle are new specialists incorporated to “Z”’s treatment services for the past 3 months. Mostly virtual due to #StayAtHome. They were recently able to see “Z” in person for the first time. The total team is a completion of comfort. The comfort that my child will be able to thrive, and has the potential to maintain and overcome many of the behaviors that have led to sensory overloads and speech delays. Everything goes hand in hand. Sensory needs to be under control so “Z” can succeed in his vocabulary words, which will help him in talking and we have incorporated sensory bins into daily life, and pretend play with stuffed animals to help “Z” communicate with non-verbal and verbal cues to extend his communication. We started with 10 words and currently working towards 25 and more.
“Z” has come a long way – we are moving in the right direction but still have work to do. “Z” took to Dionise the first time he saw her on zoom and even in person so much that he didn’t want her to leave. It was so funny that as we walked her to the door – he was waving bye to ME! Together we are also working with my son on behavior techniques – less screen time, incorporating compression clothing all day, and weighted vest/blanketed. This team is compassionate, caring, flexible and dedicated to their line of work by providing exceptional hands on/Zoom support through teaching and providing me the knowledge to continue to work with my son through this challenging time.
Since the pandemic and throughout treatment, my son experiences some regression in each individual session but with the help of all therapist working together and keeping each other in the loop, my son has improved meeting milestones. These ladies are not just doing their job they are taking the initiative to go above and beyond for the families they serve while still following protocols of the company.
Without this Easter Seals team and the ECI program, I’m not sure where my son would be. On behalf of my family Thank You!
Z’s Mom
Early Childhood Intervention services are available to children from birth to three (3) years old that show developmental delay, at risk for delay, or have a disability. Learn more about Easter Seals Greater Houston’s ECI Program today.
I would highly recommend ECI with Easter Seals Greater Houston. They have been there from bottle feedings to spoon feedings, from barely rolling to walking, and from sign language to spoken “I love yous.” ECI services are a gift you never knew you needed but are so grateful to have worked with.
My special thanks goes out to Aliza Rodriquez for being the best and efficient case manager for my child’s therapy program. Aliza’s sole focus has been ensuring that we have an adaptable and personalized treatment plan that ensures my son’s success in school and in life. She has listened to my concerns and fears about transitioning to school.
Shazil’s therapists Lisa Rand And Cindy Tullier worked with him tirelessly and he achieved so much, reached milestones we didn’t know he could reach. They came to my house and provided him Occupational, Speech and Behavior Therapies. Thank you for pushing my son to be the best he could be and not giving up through the screaming and hitting. Also for giving me strategies to get my son to eat and helping me handle sensory issues. I am thankful for them for coming to my house and not judging me if it wasn’t spotless or tidy & being someone my son can trust and love.
Words cannot describe how grateful I am to have encountered you all. Thank you for your patience and your hard work and thank you for creating such a wonderful place that changes the lives of so many children. I will be forever grateful.
Sincerely,
Rumeza J.
Your baby’s health and development won’t wait for the COVID19 pandemic to end. 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. Easter Seals Greater Houston’sEarly Childhood Intervention is accepting referrals and offers tele-health as well as in-home services. Learn more!
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 