What is Early Intervention?

Early Intervention (EI) is a coordinated, community-based service that promotes family-centered programs for children birth to three years of age and their families.

EI provides developmental services so children can start school ready to learn. EI provides service coordination, eligibility determination, identification of children with developmental delays, therapeutic interventions, and support as families navigate a system of supports for them and their child.

 Eligibility determination:

There are several ways children can be eligible for services through EI:

• A child has a medical diagnosis likely to result in a developmental delay (IE: Down Syndrome, Cleft Lip, Autism, Cerebral Palsy, NAS- Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome), OR
• After completing a comprehensive developmental evaluation, our team determines the child is delayed in one or more area of development (speech/language, physical, social emotional, cognitive), OR
• After completing the evaluation, the child is not eligible by the tool, but the team feels they would still benefit from interventions. This is called Informed Clinical Opinion.

This is no income requirement to receive EI services, nor is there a fee for this service.

What do services look like?

We have a diverse team of professionals who work to provide interventions based on what the family needs help with during their daily routines. We utilize a “coaching model” where the provider shows the family ways to incorporate activities into their daily routines to help the child overcome the delay in development.  This may include the interventionist to come during a meal time to work on communication. It may mean the interventionist goes with the family to the grocery store to work on core strength in the shopping cart.  Services look different for each child/family.  It is individualized to the needs of each family. Each family has a Primary Service Provider (PSP) who meets with them at least monthly, but likely 2-3 times a month.  Sometimes they bring another provider with them if there are more specific delays to address.

Who is on our team?

Our team has 4 Service Coordinators who work to gather information, connect families to needed interventions or supports, checks in to see how services are going, and transitions children to preschool at age 3.

We also have a large intervention team consisting of a physical therapist, an occupational therapist, a speech therapist, 4 developmental specialists, a vision specialist, a hearing specialist, a nutrition consultant, and an early childhood mental health consultant.

Our team meets weekly to discuss referrals, newly eligible children to determine who is best to serve them, and receive updates on children currently enrolled.

How to make a referral

Click this link to make an on-line self referral https://ochids.odh.ohio.gov/public/refer

Or you can call our Central Intake Referral team at 740-732-1775