Early Intervention
Murray RidgeCenter
Working to Help Youngsters Achieve
What Is Early Intervention?
Early Intervention refers to a wide range of therapeutic and educational activities designed to treat and/or educate children from birth to three years of age with developmental delays, or those who are at risk of having delays. Early intervention assists children and their families during the most critical developmental changes.
Early Intervention programs are based on the belief that by intervening as early as possible, development can be enhanced, accelerated, or modified in a positive way. This concept has become a standard philosophy in the treatment of children with disabilities and developmental delays.
Early Intervention Mission Statement:
To assist eligible children (birth to age three) and their families by intervening as early as possible to promote healthy growth and development.
Description of services:
The Lorain County Board of Developmental Disabilities (LCBDD) provides Part - C Early Intervention Services through the Help Me Grow Program of Lorain County and County Board levy dollars. Through an annual contract with the Family and Children’s First Council, LCBDD provides comprehensive developmental evaluations and assessments for Part C services (see “eligibility”).
LCBDD does not provide service coordination and does not conduct the screenings required by Ohio Department of Health (ODH) including the Ages and Stages Questionnaires (ASQ or ASQ3), the Ages and Stages Questionnaire Social Emotional (ASQ SE), the Help Me Grow Hearing Status Questionnaire, the Taking A Look Vision Checklist, the Peach Nutritional Survey, or the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS). LCBDD does not provide services to the At-Risk/Home Visiting population and does not provide Prenatal or Newborn Home Visiting Services. These services are provided by service coordinators contracted through the Help Me Grow Program.
LCBDD participates in child find/outreach activities by offering screenings to local daycares upon request and participation in local health/family fun fairs. Based upon the availability of funding (County Board levy dollars) and the Agency’s plans/priorities, LCBDD may also provide services to Part C eligible Help Me Grow participants, such as specialized instruction, ongoing assessment for program planning, playgroup, speech therapy, infant therapy funding, Family Support Services, and equipment/toy loan.
Specialized Instruction:
Specialized instruction visits are offered on an ongoing basis in the home where everyday routines and activities take place by a certified Early Intervention Specialist using a consultative model. The purpose of these visits is to provide your family with specialized instruction, information, skills, and support related to enhancing and monitoring the overall development of your child. Activities are planned that will promote your child’s acquisition of skills in a variety of developmental areas that leads to achieving the outcomes on your families’ IFSP. The visits are conducted in collaboration with your family in settings and at times that are selected by you.
Ongoing Assessment for Program Planning:
As part of the IFSP team, the Early Intervention Specialist will conduct ongoing assessments of your child’s development for purposes of program planning at least every 180 days and annually. Assessments will be completed in all five developmental domains by at least one qualified individual (Early Intervention Specialist) and will include supporting information and/or informed clinical opinion. The assessments will also include each of the following components: a summary of conversations or interviews with your family and focus on your descriptions of your own resources, priorities, and concerns related to enhancing your child’s development, observations of your child by your family, service coordinator or other service providers, and results for screenings/status checks.The IFSP team must use information gathered through assessment to develop outcomes and strategies for your IFSP reviews.
Playgroup:
Playgroups are offered as a strategy and resource to families to encourage parent-to-parent support as well as encourage overall child development and social interaction. Center-based playgroup sessions are offered at Murray Ridge School where typically developing peers also attend. Sessions are offered during the day for up to 1.5 hours on a weekly basis. Evening sessions for our families who work during the day are offered 1 – 2 times per month. Playgroups are also available in our off-site locations in Avon Lake and Lorain. Playgroups are facilitated by an Early Intervention Specialist; however parents/caregivers are expected to participate with their children for the entire length of the session. If specialized instruction is to be provided in a playgroup setting, this will be determined by the IFSP team and reflected on the IFSP outcome and summary pages.
Speech Therapy:
On-going speech-language therapy services through LCBDD may be provided if the following criteria are met:
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Your child must be eligible for Help Me Grow Part C services and enrolled in Early Intervention through LCBDD
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It has been determined that speech services are not available through your child’s private insurance OR extenuating circumstances prevent your family from accessing services through a private provider (these situations will be reviewed by the EI Supervisor on a case by case basis)
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Speech services through LCBDD are determined necessary by the IFSP team
The speech language therapist may carry a maximum weighted caseload of 30 children. Once capacity is met, families seeking ongoing speech services from LCBDD will be referred back to their HMG service coordinator for assistance in seeking other options. LCBDD will not keep a waiting list for Early Intervention speech services.
Infant Therapy Funding:
Children from birth to age 3 who have been determined eligible for Help Me Grow Part C services will be eligible to make application for Infant Therapy Funding (ITF) through LCBDD. Once eligibility to apply for funding has been established via the HMG evaluation/assessment report, the need for therapy is verified through a Pediatrician/Primary Care Physician’s order for occupational, physical, or speech therapy and is supported as an outcome on the IFSP as determined by the IFSP team. Funding is not provided for any other therapies. Families will complete an ITF application and provide needed information. Forward the application to Early Intervention for processing. A committee comprised of the Educational Services Director, the Early Intervention Supervisor and the Director of Day Service and Support Administration (SSA) will review the application and apply guidelines.
This program will follow Family Support Services funding guidelines for a sliding scale to be applied. Application for funding may include proof of family income. Family will be notified of decision by the SSA office. This program will follow the Funding Hierarchy for Help Me Grow Specialized Services and provide funding only after private insurance, Medicaid and other identified funding has been exhausted. Family will be required to provide proof of this. Each child will be limited to $600 per 6-month period.
Family Support Services Funding:
Family Support Services assists a family who keeps at home a family member who has a developmental disability. The program promotes the unity of the family by assisting it to meet the special needs of the individual. A family is eligible for family support services if it includes a family member who resides at home and is eligible to receive services through the Lorain County Board of Developmental Disabilities. Request for services is initiated by the family. Request will be approved if funds and services are available and consistent with the Board's Family Support Services plan and philosophy. Family allocation can be accessed each quarter. Families reapply at the beginning of each fiscal year for continuation of funding. If the needs of the family change, a new application is submitted. Families must verify that they have exhausted all other funding prior to requesting Family Support Services funding, including waivers.
Help Me Grow Family Support Specialist:
Families eligible for Part C services have access to a Family Support Specialist through the Help Me Grow Program. The Family Support Specialist is a parent of a child with a disability or delay who has experience with the Help Me Grow program. Their role is to offer support to families currently enrolled in Help Me Grow through phone calls, letters, home visits, workshops, support groups, informational sessions, playgroups for children, and public awareness activities. The Family Support Specialist can be reached at the Help Me Grow office at 440-284-4445.
Equipment/Toy Loan:
The Early Childhood Lending Library provides short term loan of therapeutic/developmental equipment and toys to families eligible for LCBDD services. Items are loaned at no-cost to families based on a first-come-first-serve basis, need, and availability of the item requested. A written contract shall be signed prior to delivery of the item to the family. Available items can be viewed on our website under Services for Children - Early Intervention - Lending Library, or you can contact the Early Intervention Supervisor, Valerie Deptula at 440-284-3655 or vdeptula@murrayridgecenter.org.
Calendar:
LCBDD ensures and makes available early intervention services on a year round basis for a minimum of two hundred thirty-two days, based on availability of funds. The Agency calendar is provided to families at intake and annually.