Early Intervention

Early Intervention provides coordinated services to parents/caregivers of eligible children, with developmental delays or disabilities, under the age of three.

It is part of a comprehensive, collaborative, coordinated and family-centered system designed to meet the individual developmental needs of young children and to meet the needs of the family. The focus is to enhance a child’s development in the most natural environment as possible, based on individual family priorities.

Our program believes in a supportive family-centered and developmental atmosphere where the parents/caregivers are the first and most important teachers in their child’s life.

Athens County Board of DD Early Intervention (ACBDD EI) Services are delivered primarily through a Developmental Specialist who assists in the development and implementation of developmentally appropriate practices related to enhancing the child’s growth and development as well as providing the parents/caregivers with the tools to help meet the unique needs of their children.

A Developmental Specialist (DS) provides on-going assessment, activity planning/provision and developmental strategies in the home setting, child-care centers, playgroups, daycare homes and other settings as requested by parents/guardians. A DS may also help a family identify other resources that will help support the child’s development.

Our Developmental Specialist is a critical team member of the Athens County Early Intervention team, along with other professionals; including a service coordinator, physical therapist, speech language pathologist, occupational therapist, a dietitian, mental health consultant, vision and hearing specialists.

To learn more about Athens County Help Me Grow Early Intervention services in general, contact our local contact manager Brielle Clark at (740) 517-8762 or brielle.clark@hopewellhealth.org).  If you have a concern about your child’s development call 1-800-755-4769 or make an online referral at www.ohioearlyintervention.org.

For more information, contact:

Jodi Mitchell
Developmental Specialist
(740) 541-3165
jmitchell@athenscbdd.org