Monthly Archives: November 2016

Benjamin was born in November 2010, four weeks earlier than we expected. Thankfully, because he had to be in the NICU, the doctors monitoring him on a daily basis were specialists in neonatal development, and we were able to detect his very rare chromosome deletion much earlier than we would have under normal circumstances. In January 2011, Benjamin had his first real "test" at only two months old when we had our first evaluation with Early Childhood Cares of Lane County to see if we qualified for Early Intervention services. I cannot think of another time when I have wished so hard to have my child fail. This is not something any parent would ever think that they would want to qualify for. However, over the last three and half years of our son's life, his early intervention team has been the foundation of our family's support system, and has [...]

Lilly is now 10, and was diagnosed with autism at the age of three. We recognized that we needed to learn more about how to support her so she could be successful. Lilly began early childhood special education [ECSE' right after her diagnosis, and we felt blessed to continue receiving those services up to the time when she entered elementary school. ECSE helped our family in many ways! Lilly was able to get the support she needed to be successful. I also believe ECSE helped our family function better because we found the resources we needed to understand better autism and how to best support Lilly's needs. Save

River is a sweet three year old who was diagnosed with Down syndrome before birth, and has been receiving Early Intervention [EI] services from the time he was one month old. While communication has been challenging for him, his family shared that EI has been instrumental in helping him develop better communication skills. River has made huge gains in his speech and receptive communication over the past couple of years, and the strategies his teachers have provided for working on communication have been put into action in the home. River is getting ready to head off to his first year of preschool in the Early Childhood Special Education Program. We're excited to see him continue to grow and succeed! Save

Thomas is 15, but he was diagnosed with a significant developmental delay in expressive communication before his third birthday. Although it was clear he understood much of what others were saying, he was challenged in his ability to express his wants and needs, which was very  frustrated for him. Thomas started receiving speech therapy services soon after his third birthday, and made great strides to the point where he learned to speak many words clearly by the time he was four. He continued with intensive speech services until he began public school, where support was slowly faded out. Thomas is now beginning his sophomore year of high school, and he is thriving. Thanks to the early intervention that Thomas received, he is able to enjoy high school with all of his peers in a general education program! Save Save Save

Jacob is an inquisitive nine year old with a world of knowledge! He was diagnosed with autism at the age of three, and received EI/ECSE services until he began Kindergarten. Jacob was very active as a little boy, but would not engaged with an activity for long. The first thing to spike his interest was Star Wars; these toys played a huge part in getting Jacob's attention!  EI services was great at finding other tools that connected Jacob with the outside world, like the Internet and documentaries. He is an expert on Space and NASA. Like lots of kids, Jacob has social discomfort, but he's a loving, wonderful boy who rarely shows behavior challenges thanks to the supports we put in place early on to help him be successful. If it hadn't been for the EI/ECSE services, we fear that Jacob would not be as successful today as he is. While it has, at times, been [...]

Gabriel is an amazing little man who was born with Down syndrome and a possible co-diagnosis of autism. He is now in first grade, but he began receiving Early Intervention [EI] services soon after he was born. Although he experiences a communication challenge and has some sensory sensitivity, he has made huge progress throughout the last six years! EI was instrumental in helping his family find the best strategies to help support him as he grew. Early Childhood Special Education [ECSE] gave him the opportunity to practice being in a supportive preschool environment before transitioning to Kindergarten, and he learned how to participate in important routines like sitting at circle and staying at the table during mealtimes. Now these skills help him in school, but they also help him at home during routines like dinner or family activities. Thanks to EI/ECSE, Gabriel’s family made sure they had all the information and support they needed early [...]

My daughter transitioned into a school in the 4J school district in 2013. I was lucky enough to have a fantastic team! My daughter experiences autism, and during the transition process, her whole team showed up: staff from her daycare, the autism consultant, her teacher, and all the staff involved from the school district (school psychologist, autism specialist, OT, and special education teacher). They offered a placement at her neighborhood school and another school close by. The alternate school offered more supports for children who experience autism, so we chose that one. Once children move from an IFSP to an IEP, the family piece drops out. You really feel that missing piece in the first year. Foe example, accessing resources is more challenging, and my daughter's service coordinator only coordinates her needs in the classroom. I miss the home visits and all the parent education I received from EI/ECSE. While my [...]

I'd like to take a moment to tell you what Early Intervention and Early Childhood Special Education [EI/ECSE] services have meant for my family since my son was born. He is now four years old, and was diagnosed two years ago with developmental delays. I was told these delays included speech, adaptive, social and emotional skills, as well as sensory integration issues. We started with home visits, but he now attends our local ECSE preschool where speech, occupational therapy, and early education services are pushed in to help prepare him for the routines and structure of Kindergarten. Our family has been very excited to see our son make significant gains in personal and social skills in such a short time! His teachers say he is learning classroom routines, and is more willing to interact with peers. This is a service my husband and I could not afford independently, but it is so important [...]