FAMILY FINDS FIRST STEPS VALUABLE

Carley sat on the lap of her mother, Tamilla House, placing colored pegs in a board. Through the guidance of House, this play session for Carley, a 3-year-old with Down syndrome, was also a form of therapy.

House isn't a licensed therapist, but she has become an expert in her daughter's therapy through working closely with trained specialists the First Steps early childhood intervention program has coordinated for Carley.

Carley graduated from the First Steps program, for children birth through age 2, when she turned 3 in February, but House still uses tips and techniques she was taught through the program to work with Carley, who is now in an early education program at Jefferson School.

The House family is traveling to Jefferson City today after being chosen to accept from Gov. Mel Carnahan a proclamation declaring First Steps Day as April 12. The statewide exposure is designed to make more Missourians aware of this early childhood intervention program for infants and toddlers with developmental delays or whose medical conditions could cause developmental delays, said Cindy Walton, early intervention liaison for First Steps in Cape Girardeau.

About 2,500 children statewide are served by First Steps, a Missouri program mandated by the federal government to provide services for children with disabilities, Walton said. But she added it is estimated that for every child receiving services there is at least one other child in the state who is eligible but not participating in the program that coordinates testing, physical and cognitive therapy and services for the family of children with developmental delays.

"Early intervention is so important," Walton said. "If you catch a child's needs early, you can often prevent long-term problems later on."

Tamilla and Brian House were told this when their daughter Carley was born with Down syndrome, a birth defect that can cause mental retardation and physical handicaps. Living in Memphis at the time of her birth, they began getting therapy for Carley when she was 6 weeks old.

When the Houses moved to Cape Girardeau two years ago for Brian's job with Pepsi, House said she found Missouri's First Steps program and the providers in Cape Girardeau to be just what the family needed.

First Steps will coordinate therapy for its clients and it arranged for Carley to have in-home therapy, which was great for House who has a son two years older and a daughter two years younger than Carley.

"When they would work with Carley, I would be right there learning what they were showing her so I could carry it through the rest of the week," House said.

The therapists would also ask for House's opinions and recommendations when setting goals for Carley and writing her individualized therapy plan.

"It was like I was one of them," House said of the therapists. "They knew that as her parents, we were around Carley all the time and knew what to expect and what it was possible for her to do. They trusted us as Carley's primary therapists."

Walton said the family component is very much a part of the First Steps program. In fact one of the stated goals of First Steps is to foster the development of child- and family-centered services in order to support families in their natural care-giving and nurturing roles.

This could include providing nursing services if the parents needed help caring for a child or teaching siblings sign language to communicate with a hearing- or speech-impaired child, Walton said.

"We really rely on the family as the No. 1 caregiver and trust that parents know what's best for their child," Walton said.

House said the early childhood intervention program made a big difference for Carley, an active 3-year-old who quickly charms strangers with her smile and sweet nature.

"Her development is very close to typical development," she said. "I can't imagine where she'd be without therapy."

Walton said many more children could benefit from this intervention if their parents knew about or would agree to participate in First Steps.

House said it can be frightening to face having a special needs child. She remembers when Carley was born wondering how she could handle having a daughter with Down syndrome.

"But I came to realize that God made Carley special. He gave her to us to take care of and we feel honored to take care of her and raise her," House said.

And that means getting all the help they can in making sure Carley has every opportunity afforded her.

"God has blessed us by showing us how to help her develop," House said.

FIRST STEPS

For information on First Steps, Missouri's early childhood intervention for infant and toddlers with developmental delays, call the Department of Mental Health's Sikeston Regional center at (573) 472-5300 or (800) 497-4647 or the Department of Health's Bureau of Special Health Care Needs, (573) 290-5830.