Early Childhood Intervention
This website is a place for families who are facing
challenges pertaining to their child's development and
growth.
It is a place to find answers and practical
suggestions. That's what Early Intervention Support is all
about.
Whether a family has a child with a challenging behavior,
a disability or developmental issue, childhood is short - it
should be savored and enjoyed.
Learn More:
Ask a Therapist
We understand developmental milestones and the challenges
of Special Needs children. We spend a great deal of time
with families understanding the inner workings of childhood
routines and interactions. Ask us about your child today!
Ask a Therapist
Welcome To Holland
by Emily Perl Kingsley
(c) 1987 by Emily Perl Kingsley. All rights reserved. Reprinted
by permission of the author.
I am often asked to describe the experience of raising a
child with a disability - to try to help people who have not
shared that unique experience to understand it, to imagine how
it would feel. It's like this...
When you're going to have a baby, it's like planning a
fabulous vacation trip - to Italy. You buy a bunch of guide
books and make your wonderful plans. The Coliseum. The
Michelangelo David. The gondolas in Venice. You may learn some
handy phrases in Italian. It's all very exciting.
After months of eager anticipation, the day finally arrives.
You pack your bags and off you go. Several hours later, the
plane lands. The stewardess comes in and says, "Welcome to
Holland."
"Holland?!?" you say. "What do you mean Holland? I signed up
for Italy! I'm supposed to be in Italy. All my life I've dreamed
of going to Italy."
But there's been a change in the flight plan. They've landed
in Holland and there you must stay. The important thing is that
they haven't taken you to a horrible, disgusting, filthy place,
full of pestilence, famine and disease. It's just a different
place.
So you must go out and buy new guide books. And you must
learn a whole new language. And you will meet a whole new group
of people you would never have met.
It's just a different place. It's slower-paced than Italy,
less flashy than Italy. But after you've been there for a while
and you catch your breath, you look around...and you begin to
notice that Holland has windmills...and Holland has tulips.
Holland even has Rembrandts.
But everyone you know is busy coming and going from
Italy...and they're all bragging about what a wonderful time
they had there. And for the rest of your life, you will say
"Yes, that's where I was supposed to go. That's what I had
planned." And the pain of that will never, ever, ever, ever go
away...because the loss of that dream is a very very significant
loss. But...if you spend your life mourning the fact that you
didn't get to Italy, you may never be free to enjoy the very
special, the very lovely things...about Holland.
More Tips for Children with Special Needs
Parenting Tips in Other Areas IncludeLearn More About Early InterventionTherapy OptionsThankfully, there are many ways to deal with childhood developmental
delays and behaviors. These include in-home services, outpatient (you take
your child to a clinic), inpatient (following injury or surgery) and school
based services. Which type of therapy should you choose? Visit our Therapy Options
area to learn more.
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