When Logan Guidry was 8 months old, his parents knew something was wrong.
“He wasn’t sitting. He wasn’t rolling over. He wasn’t doing the normal
6-month stuff. The neurologists aren’t sure why,” said his mother, Daphnie
Guidry.
Logan soon began a regimen of physical and occupational therapy, paid for
in part by the family’s medical insurance, but a year later, he hadn’t
progressed as far as she had hoped.
“Our physical therapy at their own setting was not working,” said Guidry,
who was once a teacher for an early intervention program. “I knew if
anything would help, a home-based therapy would be the best option.”
That’s when she got in touch with the Early Steps Program.
Early Steps is a state and federally funded program of the Louisiana
Department of Health and Hospitals mandated by Part C of the Individuals
with Disabilities Education Act. It is available to all children in the
state of Louisiana, said Monica Dowden, regional coordinator for the
program in Region IV, which covers Lafayette, Acadia, Evangeline, St.
Landry, St. Martin, Iberia and Vermilion parishes.
On July 1, 2003, DHH took over administering services for ages birth to 3
formerly provided by the Department of Education.
It is free to all families, regardless of ability to pay, even the often-beleaugured
middle income families that often don’t qualify for such programs.
Getting help
It’s now six month later, and the Logan’s progress has been dramatic.
“He went from commando crawling — pulling himself with his forearms — to
now walking with a walker.”
Logan seems to like it better, as well, Guidry said. “It went from a
screaming match in the parking lot to now, when he hears a car drive up,
he’s in the window, waitng for them.”
Four specialists, a physical therapist, an occupational therapist, a
speech therapist and a special instructor each visit Logan for one hour a
week on consecutive days, Guidry said.
The idea behind the program is to help kids with physical problems or
developmental delays ready for school, Dowden said.
“Hopefully, when they reach school age, they will not have to receive
special education services — or fewer — than if they had not received them
at the beginning,” she said.
After age 3, children who continue to need services are referred to their
parish school system, which provides special education to youth from
preschool to age 21.
Variety of services
Early Steps concentrates on a wide range of developmental problems.
“We service four areas of development — cognitive, communication, physical
and social/emotional,” Dowden said. “We’re a developmental program, not a
medical program. We focus on development, although some of our services
could be medical.
“We have children with motor or physical problems. Or, they may be delayed
in walking, or maybe have cognitive problems with receptive language — not
really understanding what you’re telling them. We also service social and
emotional problems in children who may not socialize well.” That could
apply to children who refuse to interact with other children or even have
problems interacting with their own parents, Dowden said.
Some of the other problems the program addresses are those related to
adaptive development, such as feeding and getting dressed.
The program will also provide free assistive devices, that range from
hearing aids to devices that help children sit upright.
Once a child is accepted into the program, the parent may have a therapist
assigned to their case, or may choose the one they prefer. They are listed
on the program’s provider matrix, which can be furnished to the family or
can be accessed online.
“All programs are based on parent choice,” Dowden said. “Parents can
choose to change providers, too.”
Listed among the providers is the Lafayette Parish School Board’s special
education department, which offers services for kids through age 2 at its
Parent-Child Center, for families that would prefer working through the
school system.
Children may be referred to the program through their pediatrician or
other health-care professional or parents may contact the program directly
if they think there may be a problem, Dowden said.
So far, more than 800 children in Region IV are in the program, Dowden
said, but Early Steps is actively seeking more. “We’re part of Child
Search,” she said, referring to an effort to find all children ages birth
to 21 who need help.
