Early Intervention

Hello all!

I know I said our next post would be about our "window," however an important issue has come to light with Early Intervention services in Fairfax County, VA.

Early Intervention is a government-sponsored program (*not fully funded by the government, insurance is billed*) through the Individuals with Disabilities Act that brings therapists into the homes of children ages newborn to three who are considered at risk for developmental delays.  We have been blest with two therapists, physical and speech, who aid James several times a month with the challenges he faces due to Trisomy 21.  In this blog we will highlight the milestones these therapists help him accomplish.  His physical therapist helps him with muscle strength and coordination while his speech therapist helps stimulate his oral muscles to make feeding easier.  Without these therapists James would not have reached numerous milestones.  He can now:

Track objects with his eyes.
Reach for and grab objects.
Bring objects to mouth (still working on keeping it in his mouth).
Hold his feet in his hands.
Roll onto his stomach and back (thanks to his "HipHelper" compression shorts).
Pull to sit.
Hold his head up for short periods of time.
Suck for short periods of time.

We have been so proud of James' work and determination.  Babies with Down Syndrome are born with low muscle tone which makes it harder to reach important milestones.  Early Intervention keeps James on track and helps Mark and I to support James' development with exercises and stretches.

Unfortunately, Fairfax County put their program on hold.  Over the past couple years referrals to the program have increased drastically and Fairfax County hasn't kept up with the demand.  Any child referred to the program after March 19th of this year is on a waiting list and there are 500+ children on the list to date.  We are lucky that we decided to stay in Alexandria City as there are no issues with their EI program.  We hope that lobbying Fairfax will result in a budget that allows for the growth of this program as Early Intervention changes the course of these children's lives, giving them the help to learn and perfect the skills that most children develop naturally, helping them to be independent.  Within two days of James' birth I was introduced to this program as doctors and therapists advocate for the start of therapy as soon as possible so that, with the help of EI, James can develop normally and reach his milestones.  We hope that the Fairfax County government will recognize the importance of this program so that these children can grow up to be as independent as possible.  For now, we are thankful that we receive these services in the home so that James can grow to be big and strong!  :D

With love.

Therapy - Using his "surfboard" to help arm and neck strength.
What a cute little goober!  :D