Letter

Below is a letter I wrote to the state, supporting an increase in wages for the EI staff, who are currently paid at a rate of 25-35% lower than other Physical Therapists, Occupational Therapists, Developmental Specialists etc. Because I am such a good mom (LOL) I have pictures of her sitting, cralwing, standing at a table, and standing unsupported that I will be including as well. Jen asked me to write one and include pics if I had any (EI is sponsoring an initiative) because she thought we were a good family and Julia is a perfect example of someone who has clearly benefited from EI services. What do you think?



To Whom It May Concern:



My daughter Julia Ellis has been receiving Early Intervention services since July, 2005.



When Julia first began in the Early Intervention program she was 11 months old. Julia was accepted in to the program for both gross motor and language delays (both at 7 months).



Jennifer M. (name omitted here for privacy), BS, Developmental Specialist, came to our house weekly to work with Julia. While Julia was making progress, after about a month Jennifer and I decided to request a Physical Therapy consult, which Julia took part in a few weeks later. The physical therapist, Vida G. (again, name omitted here for privacy), noted that Julia had low muscle tone through out her arms, legs, and trunk. We began seeing Vida at the Early Intervention center bi-weekly, and switched Jennifer’s home visits to every other week. As a result, Julia has one service or the other on a weekly basis.



When Julia began her Early Intervention visits, she had just barely mastered sitting unsupported. In the six months since Julia began receiving services she has gone from sitting...to crawling...to pulling to stand at a table...to, just within the past few weeks, standing completely unsupported.



Julia, before starting Early Intervention could not say a single word. Over the past 6 months, Julia’s vocabulary has increased greatly, and continues to do so every day. Julia’s list of words she can say include Mama, Dada, Papa, Mimi, baby, bear-bear, apple, happy, up, Emmy (for her sister Emily) and Dee Dee (for her sister Katie). Julia also using sign language to communicate and can sign more, up, down, mess and all done/all gone.



I firmly believe that without the help of Early Intervention, without the expertise of Jennifer and Vida specifically, Julia’s progress would be no where near as great as it has been since starting Early Intervention.



Julia recently had her 6 month re-assessment. Every single area that the Early Intervention staff members evaluated dramatically increased from her original assessment.



Social Emotional/Personal Social/Interaction: went from 10 months to 23 months.

Fine Motor Skills: went from 10 months to 21 months.

Receptive Language: went from 10 months to 17 months.

Expressive Language: went from 7 months to 15 months.

Cognition: went from 11 months to 18 months.

Self Care/Adaptive Skills: went from 14 months to 20 months.

Gross Motor Skills: went from 7 months to 11 months.



As you can see, my daughter has benefited greatly from her involvement with the Early Intervention program. The work that the Early Intervention staff does is amazing. The ideas that they share in regard to activities a parent can work on at home to reinforce what is done during sessions, are not only great ideas, but also shows just how much each Early Intervention staff member wants the child to succeed.



I can not stress enough how much I feel the Early Intervention program has helped my daughter Julia, and continues to help her as she progresses toward walking independently.



Thank you!