Early On® Is Here to Help

by Vanessa Winborne, Early On® State Coordinator, Office of Special Education and Early Intervention Services, Michigan Department of Education

Early On® is a statewide system of early intervention services mandated by Part C of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). It is designed to help families find the social, health, and educational services that will promote the development of their infants and toddlers with special needs. Early On services are family-centered, comprehensive, multi-disciplinary, and interagency.

In 1986, then Governor James J. Blanchard designated the Michigan Department of Education (MDE) as the lead agency in this collaboration with the Family Independence Agency and the divisions of mental health and public health in the Department of Community Health. The Early On system of early intervention services is based on partnerships between families and service providers. It is also based on collaboration among community agencies, organizations, and private practitioners. Early identification and early services are the major emphases of Early On. Anyone who is concerned about a child’s development can request a comprehensive multidisciplinary evaluation that will determine if a child is experiencing a developmental delay. The Individualized Family Service Plan (IFSP), based on a family’s concerns and priorities, guides the necessary early intervention services support needed for the child with a disability or developmental delay and her/his family.

Why early intervention services?

Research has shown that early intervention services can help prevent further developmental delay. The sequential nature of human development makes setting good early patterns of learning critical for the first years of life. Parents have often heard that a child will “grow out” of a delay. In some cases, the longer a delay is not addressed, the more severe it can become.

Early intervention services available through Early On include: physical or occupational therapy, social work services, nursing services, family training, nutrition help, psychological services, vision services, speech and language services, health and medical diagnostic services, assistive technology, audiology services, transportation, and service coordination. Early On addresses the physical, cognitive, social/emotional, communication, and adaptive needs of a child with a disability or developmental delay.

So what does this have to do with literacy for infants and toddlers?

Literacy involves many areas of a child’s development. Talking to infants and toddlers teaches them the rules and patterns of verbal communication. Identifying different objects in the child’s world sets the path for recognizing sounds and learning the concept that symbols are used in the environment. Encouraging babies to learn how to manipulate objects later transfers to holding and turning pages in a book. Such basic everyday activities and interactions with babies involve skills that prepare them for literacy. The International Reading Association and the National Association for the Education of Young Children recommend that during the infant and toddler years there are things one can do to foster literacy development:

• Talk to babies and toddlers with simple language, frequent eye contact, and responsiveness to children’s cues and language attempts.
• Frequently play with, talk to, sing to, and fingerplay with very young children.
• Share cardboard books with babies and frequently read to toddlers on an adult’s lap or together with one or two other children.
• Provide simple art materials such as crayons, markers, and large paper for toddlers to explore and manipulate.

During their early years, children need someone who will encourage their language development and lay the groundwork for literacy. Children who have disabilities will need the same but in some cases, they will need additional assistance to fully benefit from the preliteracy activities.

Early On believes that parents are a child’s first teachers. Early On supports families as they learn different techniques and/or find the resources to help the child with a disability to engage in preliteracy activities. For example, a child who has a hearing loss will not necessarily respond to a parent’s early communication. Through an evaluation, Early On can help detect if a child has a hearing loss and connect the family to resources that will foster communication and language development.

In 1999, the Michigan Department of Community Health (DCH) requested Early On’s support to encourage hospitals to start newborn hearing screening programs. Through DCH, Early On provided incentive grants to Michigan hospitals for newborn hearing screening equipment. Today, through the joint efforts of the Departments of Education and Community Health, nearly all hospitals in Michigan screen newborns for hearing loss. Early detection can help infants with hearing loss maximize their development.

A child with a delay in any of the five developmental areas can receive support from Early On. Based on a family’s needs, supports and resources can be identified to help the family enhance the development of the child with a disability and/or developmental delay. Whether the need is physical, social/emotional, communication, adaptive, or cognitive, Early On is here to help.

To receive help from Early On, call (800)-EARLYON (1-800-327-5966) or contact Vanessa Winborne, P.O. Box 30008, Lansing, MI 48909, (517) 335-4865, (517) 241-3690 fax, WinborneV@michigan.gov.

TOP of the Page