Teamwork Makes ECI Work

Easter Seals Greater Houston's Early Childhood Intervention Program (ECI) supports infants, babies and toddlers ages 0-36 months. ECI offers an array of services based on each child's unique needs, including but not limited to Occupational Therapy, Physical Therapy, Speech Therapy, Specialized Skills Training (SST), Case Management and Nutrition. Every ECI client gets a team of specialists who work with their family to help them reach their goals and developmental milestones. Our therapists, specialists and case managers are dedicated to their clients’ success, always going the extra mile to meet families where they are and work with parents to meet their baby’s needs.

Read below from an ECI parent about how the program has worked for her family:

"When I first had my twin boys, it was a rollercoaster of new experiences, especially because I was a first-time parent and the first to have twins in the family.  My twins were preemies, and with that we had so many questions on how the progress of our twins’ milestones would go.  Our hospital referred us to ECI as one of the first appointments to schedule when the twins were discharged.

Sarah, our Early Intervention Specialist, broke down what the program is and what it does and was very patient, especially because we had some questions about the types of therapists we would need. Over the course of the following months, we learned more about milestones and were able to give a lot better detailed feedback to our pediatrician as well, so we are better able to serve our boys.

Thien, our nutritionist, helped us transition the boys from bottles to purees and finally to solids. She taught us more about the patience needed for the twins to learn how to drink a bottle of milk, or how to chew food, so they can feel comfortable eating upright and not laying down.  She was very comprehensive when figuring out what formula amounts the babies needed, or figuring out the boys’ growth charts.

Charisse, our physical therapist, helped us a lot with getting the boys’ motor skills to match their age milestones, and they are now able to stand and explore more of their surroundings. It’s interesting learning about the boys’ muscles and body development as they find ways to move about at home. It was enjoyable working side by side with Charisse as we learned about movements to work on until the next home session.

Marcela, our occupational therapist, helped us learn how to put together physical therapy and nutritional therapy where they were struggling at the time. It was interesting to see what stimulates the boys and use their curiosity to progress in their daily functions. This helped a lot, especially because they go to daycare, and we were able to get them on pace with the daycare’s program as they progressed to the next classroom with their age group.

I really like that all these ladies were able to accommodate their home visit appointments with us and were very patient through that process, even when the boys got sick and we had to reschedule. Communication among the therapists, pediatrician, daycare and our family unit has been excellent, and we are grateful for the boys' success now that they are 1 year old and thriving!"

- Parent of ECI clients, ECI Central Team, Easter Seals Greater Houston