Early Intervention for Children with Disabilities in Ohio

Help Me Grow

One of the most helpful programs we found was Help Me Grow. Unfortunately, we didn’t find out about it until our daughter Gwen was almost two years old. Had we known about it earlier, we would have enrolled her right after birth.

Help Me Grow is Ohio’s early intervention program for children from birth to age 3 with developmental delays or disabilities. As of around 2019–2020, the program removed its income-based restrictions. Now, any child with a qualifying diagnosis or developmental delay can receive services at no cost, regardless of family income.

Once we enrolled, we were connected with a physical therapist who came to our house regularly. Although Gwen was already receiving therapy at Nationwide Children’s Hospital, these home visits gave us new ideas to support her development between sessions. It was a great supplement to what we were already doing.

Through Help Me Grow, Gwen’s in-home therapist eventually told us about Easterseals Central and Southeast Ohio. We transitioned Gwen’s services there and continued through Help Me Grow’s support.

Easterseals Early Intervention

Easterseals offered an early childhood education program in Hilliard that Gwen attended. It was essentially a pre-preschool with a strong early intervention focus. She joined a classroom where she did structured learning activities, received assessments from her teacher, and even got her physical therapy right in the classroom setting.

The program was an incredible fit. It helped Gwen grow socially and physically and gave her access to consistent support in a more natural environment. We didn’t pay anything for these services, and Easterseals even offered a busing option to and from the classroom.

If your child qualifies for early intervention, we highly recommend looking into Easterseals. You can learn more about their early education programs here.

Transition to Preschool

One of the best parts of working with Easterseals was how smoothly they helped us transition into the next phase of Gwen’s education. As Gwen approached her third birthday, they guided us through the process of setting up IEP evaluations and connecting with our local school district. Thanks to their help, we didn’t have to wait until the start of the next school year. Gwen aged out of Easterseals and moved straight into our district’s preschool program mid-year.

The preschool is a peer model program, which means that about half the children have IEPs and half do not. This mix has been wonderful for Gwen. She’s continued receiving physical therapy once a week right in the school setting, and she’s learning alongside kids with and without disabilities. The continuity of care, familiar routines, and inclusive environment have all played a role in keeping her moving forward.