(gentle bright music) >> Well hello.

What to you whatcha doing?

>> Narrator: When a newborn arrives, the excitement is undeniable and we eagerly anticipate the milestones of first steps, first words, and the relationships that lie ahead.

But it's important to remember, there's no right way for a child to grow.

Every child has their own pace and journey.

In this episode, we'll celebrate the uniqueness of every child's developmental path and remind parents that no matter the challenges, they're not alone on this journey.

Welcome to Building Blocks.

Every child is different.

(gentle light quirky music) >> Presenter 1: Legacy Foundation is Lake County's Community Foundation.

For over 30 years, we've partnered with donors and nonprofits focusing on youth development, the arts, the environment, health, literacy and other causes that matter to you.

We're committed to Lake County forever.

First Things First Porter County is dedicated to supporting families, healthy beginnings, and quality early learning, ensuring every Porter County baby is born prepared for a strong start in life.

Learn more at firstthingspc.org.

(lively upbeat music) >> I have a very strong connection to other students.

Everyone makes an effort to help each other.

I'll remember the feeling of being here, the feeling that I was a part of a family.

(lively upbeat music fades) >> Presenter 2: Routine visits with a pediatrician are vital to a child's development.

That's why at North Shore Health Centers, pediatricians provide quality care to every child, every time.

Ensuring that your child is reaching their developmental milestones and are up to date on their vaccines.

Learn more at northshorehealth.org.

(bright music) >> Presenter 3: Doing as much as you can, as quickly as you can is important to me.

Life is short.

And the earlier we get started helping our community, the better off our community will be.

(gentle light quirky music) >> Presenter 4: Additional support for Building Blocks is provided generously by Tom Sourlis and Sue Eleuterio, as well as Porter County Community Foundation serving Porter County since 1996.

Additional support for local programming and Lake Shore public media is provided by viewers like you.

Thank you.

(gentle light music) >> Any parent who has multiple kids, they know how different their, you know, one kid is from another child.

So it does take time to learn those cues because like in any relationship, you're learning how two people communicate and of course the baby's in a very dynamic stage where they're changing every day.

And so what you have to read may be quite different from Monday to Tuesday or Wednesday.

(gentle light music) >> I was ready to jump into motherhood the same exact way that I did with my first.

And you know, I've got this, I've done this before.

And then when I had Owen, you know, he was in the NICU for a while and it was just like one thing after another of, you know, different diagnosis.

>> And instead going "No," (indistinct) >> Not like that.

>> Not like that, okay.

>> Some kids are visual learners, some kids are auditory learners and some kiddos are more hands-on learners.

So really taking a step back and just getting to know your child, what motivates them.

Also remembering that just 'cause one area of development might seem a little delayed or behind doesn't mean that they're not flourishing in probably three others.

(gentle light bright music) >> Lisa: Oh yeah, jumping and clapping?

>> Narrator: As parents, we are often expected to have all the answers.

The truth is early childhood development is complex and there are times when we all need support.

The unrealistic expectation of being a super parent can sometimes get in the way of asking for help.

But seeking guidance doesn't mean you're falling short.

In fact, advocating for your child is one of the most powerful things you can do.

>> Some kiddos are just gonna be slower to develop, and that's fine.

But when you start seeing that we're six months old and now we are not sitting, we're not rolling, we're not reaching, and this doesn't get better as time goes on, unless they get early intervention.

They just start to fall further and further behind.

>> There's nothing wrong with your kiddo if they're struggling in one area.

We all have our challenges and there are resources out there to help support so that they can just continue to grow and thrive in their environment.

>> Narrator: If you are worried that your child may be delayed in their development, early intervention is the opportunity to get help when it's most effective.

Talking with your pediatrician is a great first step.

There is a network of specialists available to develop the best plan.

>> I say it's better to go and explore things and try to figure out if something's going on, because what if there's different ways they could help?

And if you go to the eval and there's nothing wrong, that's great too, you know?

But there's no shame in going and asking for an evaluation.

You know, there's no shame in asking for help.

>> You wanna eat it for a minute instead of the... >> Narrator: Initiation of early intervention often falls on parents.

That responsibility may feel overwhelming, but the simple act of trusting your intuition is often the first step to finding help for you and your child.

With skilled guidance in a plan, a child development professional can illuminate the unknown and bring focus to your child's care.

>> You are the best person for your child.

Nobody's gonna love your child more than you.

Nobody's gonna do better for your child more than you.

And it's okay to ask for help.

We're out here.

We want to help.

We're here when you're ready.

>> A lot of times moms really just have a gut intuition that there's something wrong with their kiddo and you know, they will bring up their concerns to the doctor.

So I always tell moms I'm like, "You know your kid best.

You know what's normal and what's not.

So trust your gut and you know, push for answers if you're not satisfied."

>> When we brought Owen home from the NICU, I noticed that he was not looking at me in the eyes when I would, you know, like when you have a little baby and you get up close to them and stuff and might baby talk them like he was turning his head like this and was not making eye contact with me.

So that's how we found out he had bilateral cataracts and now has a permanent vision impairment.

>> Narrator: Owen faced a difficult start.

He suffered a brain injury right after birth.

During his time in the neonatal intensive care unit, the NICU, a strategic plan was being put into place to give him the best chance to thrive.

A dedicated team of experts from four different fields came together giving Courtney the reassurance she needed.

She wasn't alone on this journey.

>> Lisa is his speech therapist.

We have seen her for over two years in our home.

Owen can hear her from the kitchen like me greeting her at the door and her saying "Hi," like he's immediately like looking for her.

As you can see, he's very comfortable with her.

Honestly, I couldn't imagine, I'm not trying to be sappy.

I could not imagine life without her myself.

So let alone like having her for Owen, knowing that there are people like her in his corner.

She's definitely a comfort person for him, absolutely.

Lisa is amazing.

I don't know what we would do without her, but all of our therapists, like I said before, we've been very fortunate.

(gentle light bright music fades) (quirky bright music) >> If a parent feels that in their gut something's off, then by all means let's ask.

Let's ask the questions.

If we don't ask, we're not gonna find out anything.

There's this kind of older mentality of, "Oh, just wait and see."

"Like things will be fine.

Just let them figure it out."

I don't prescribe to that method of thinking and I never have, because the purpose of early intervention is start now so there isn't a problem later.

>> The brain is developing the most between zero and five years old.

So if you're getting intervention early, you can rewire that brain and figure out other pathways to use to communicate or to move or to do these other things.

And I see the kiddos that do get the early intervention, how much farther they are along in their skills than say the same age child with the same diagnosis that didn't receive any early intervention, you know, for various reasons.

>> It really comes down to a notion of prevention or intervention.

Do you wanna wait for a big problem to happen and then it's much more expensive and much more difficult to correct?

Or do you want to get kids back under the right trajectory right at the beginning where the gap is very small and costs a lot less money, it's much more effective to do it early, and then you set that kid up for a lifetime of success.

So these are decisions that we adults need to make to support our children.

>> Early intervention only goes to three years old.

And a lot of times if you get in early enough, we can be done with services by three.

Because we started so early, we got figured everything out, they did wait until there was this huge, huge gap.

I always say the sooner you can get in, the better.

>> Narrator: Early childhood is a time of rapid growth in development, and every child's journey is unique.

The skills children develop during these years don't happen in isolation.

They build upon one another in a natural progression specific to each child.

>> We take it one step at a time.

We celebrate even the tiniest little milestone.

Celebrate the little wins too.

Because you know, a lot of times they're looking at that big picture of my kid is not walking, my kid is not talking and they think, you know, "Gosh, we're so far from that.

We're never ever gonna get there."

But like we're just taking baby steps towards it.

We're gonna get there.

(gentle light bright music) >> He is very bubbly, smiling all the time, a happy kid.

Anywhere we go everyone's always like, "He's such a happy kid.

Like does he cry?"

And I'm like, oh, he cries.

I'm like, he has his moments but most of the time he is just a very happy kid.

Ryker was born two months early due to complications on my end.

During the pregnancy, had high blood pressure and preeclampsia.

So I was hospitalized and put on bed rest.

So the hospital kept and we delivered him two months early and he was three pounds at birth.

So a few months go by and I noticed he's not doing like things that my older two children.

I have a 13-year-old and 11-year-old were doing.

And I had a feeling something was going on with him, I just knew and I'm like, well he's premature.

I'm like, this is my first experience with a premature child.

But I did first steps with my second born.

So they came back out at his six months.

At that time, he wasn't rolling over, he wasn't getting up lifting his head up, he kept favoring his left.

So we started physical therapy once a week, every Thursday for an hour.

Like I knew he was using one side favoring, but I didn't really know why.

Like when she was like, "Yeah, he's doing this."

And I'm like, "Oh, he is?"

And then like the week would go by and I'm like, "You're right.

He's been doing that same thing."

Since therapy started, he has been able to lift his head off the ground, roll over from both sides, back to front or vice versa, crawling.

For a few months, he was scooting, which was like an army crawl, but he was not wanting to bend his left leg.

For months, we were sitting there struggling with getting him to get off the ground and be on hands and knees.

And this past four weeks he's finally gotten to that.

And after that, it took off to where he wants to stand and start walking along the couches, tables, chairs, add anything that he can hold onto.

Now we're working on getting him to stand up in place, hold a stability and to walk.

Every few months, it started to be where he get another set skill that done and accomplished.

And in this past month and a half, it's been just, he's skyrocketed.

(lively bright music) >> Narrator: Building skills and gaining confidence isn't limited to the child.

As you will learn more about your child's distinct needs and personality, you will grow into your role.

Parenting is, in many ways, a learned skill.

Life and children will surprise you.

Adapting as your child develops is a strength every parent builds over time.

>> No doctor can actually just be like, "Oh, this is how he's gonna be when he's bigger."

Like unfortunately it doesn't work like that.

Every child, same diagnosis or not, are different.

I obviously was not prepared at all, but I'd say after about the first year, I was finally confident enough to really be like, okay, I've got this, you know?

Like I've got a hold of this and we're gonna take it head on.

And regardless of the obstacles, you know, we'll make it through.

You know, like is a lot, yes.

The doctor visits are a lot, yes, you know.

He does not sit on his own.

He does not eat on his own.

So him not having that independence can be a lot.

But at the end of the day, you know, he's here and he's a very happy little boy and you do what you have to do.

>> Narrator: Every child development professional brings with them a network of trusted experts.

When a symptom or a delay arises, it may signal the need for interdisciplinary support.

While specialists may focus on addressing specific concerns, they recognize that a collaborative approach ultimately serves the child's best interest.

>> I have speech pathologists, occupational therapists, physical therapists, developmental therapists, AB professionals, dieticians, nutritionists who really help me focus on that whole child piece.

Again, we can't just isolate one challenge from another.

In the almost 16 years that I've been practicing, I'm constantly being reminded there is no one person who knows every answer to every question.

Creating and continuing a team approach for every child is a beautiful thing and I encourage everybody to do it.

>> We want you to be able to drink.

>> His therapist during sessions.

Sometimes they're like, "Oh, I have some resources for you."

You know, like I found this online or I heard this from another therapist at the clinic.

And it's just an abundance of people coming together to give you these resources.

If first steps weren't a thing, if his therapists weren't a thing, like I honestly don't know what we would do.

>> I really try to emphasize to families like I know I'm your speech path, but I'm gonna look at everything because we can't count one thing out from another.

Everything works together as a whole.

>> If you're an early intervention, you have a service coordinator and they're also a really good resource 'cause they know all about the different types of services in the area and preschools.

And they can also help parents apply for the Medicaid waiver if they need to.

Or they can help put parents apply for insurance for their kids too for therapies.

>> Narrator: Each concern presents different challenges.

Professional assistance can provide a plan that includes practical coaching to help parents support their child in everyday situations.

With the right guidance, parents can feel confident in advocating for their child.

>> You know, and I explain it to the parents, you know, I am here one hour a week with you, maybe sometimes every other week.

I need to teach them the strategies that they can use during the week to help their child.

This program is all about coaching caregivers.

Like you know, we're not going in with our bag of toys and having our agenda.

We're going in to the parents and saying, "Okay, what do you wanna work on today?

What are you having trouble with?"

Giving those parents those opportunity to practice the skills when I'm there, but also then when I'm gone, then they can feel confident enough to carry it out.

It really, the parent involvement does make a huge difference.

>> Can we ban him?

>> He's had a struggle his first year of life from being in the hospital for two months to, you know, the delays that he has with his growth and development.

He wants it so badly.

You can see like he tries, but then after so many times and so long he's like, "Okay, I'm done.

I'm crashing out."

Like, "I don't wanna do this no more."

But that's why the weekly visits really help because if he didn't do it the first week or you know, that's something to work on the next visit right in the beginning.

Yeah, I have homework.

What I've just been working on at home since they only come once a week, they show me the steps of what I should be doing.

Like I'm incorporating it into his everyday routine.

(gentle light bright music) The first few visits, I mean, yeah, it's getting to see like what she does with Ryker and like I just kind of sit on the back burner and she told me, you know, "Get involved, you know, I want you involved."

Yeah, clapping.

And it just got me more comfortable with her.

And the relationship with her.

We've been doing it six months, so she's known him for basically half of his life.

He loves her.

Like the first few visits, of course it's the warming up, but he loves her.

Every time he sees her he smiles.

She's like family.

He'll look out the window for her.

He'll be at the window when she leaves.

I'm very grateful for Lisa.

I am just very grateful for early intervention, what they've done for my children.

Both my kids 'cause my son was in it too.

But with Ryker especially, seeing him succeed and grow and get better every single week is amazing to me.

>> Huh?

Are you trying to be all done?

>> I started working with Courtney and Owen, probably when Owen was almost a year old or over a year old.

And at that time, mom was really trying to work on feeding with Owen 'cause he has a G-tube and she really wanted to explore if he could eat by mouth.

We were able to get him to, you know, take tastes of things, drink water from a straw.

Once he started having some really bad health challenges with seizure activity and they weren't able to get them under control for a while.

So then he stopped kind of eating orally and then we kind of started to focus on his communication skills in different ways that he could try to communicate with us 'cause he is visually impaired.

So we were trying different types of buttons where mom or I would record our voice.

And then if he hit it, it would say eat or drink or play.

Just so we could try to help him to tell us, you know, what do you need?

>> It has been very helpful having it at home because, like I said, I dropped my oldest off at school right around the corner, come back and we jump right into therapy.

So we've had the same therapist for, like I said, over two years now.

They know Owen very well.

He has grown a lot over two years and really they've grown with him.

They already know when they come here, if Owen is giving certain gestures or movements or sometimes a little bit of attitude, he's either gonna have it today or he's not.

Immediately, you know, if he starts crying or something, we back off a little bit.

We'll give him maybe five minutes to kind of calm down, relax and we'll try to get back into it.

And if he's not having it, then we may sit there and kind of discuss what our long-term plan is, if that has changed at all from a couple months ago when we talked about it.

Things like that.

But they're very good with Owen and always patient.

>> So if you have a kiddo with a language delay early in the zero to three range, then a lot of those kids end up struggling in school with reading, writing and language because they already had a harder time with it when they were young.

So a lot of those kids do attend to struggle in school because of the language delay.

>> Learning is beginning in utero and never stops.

You know, the period from prenatal to three is the single most consequential window in all of human development.

It is the time during which the fundamental architecture of the brain is wired in ways that will serve to either support or, you know, in more negative cases, you know, hinder our long-term success for decades to come.

That optimal wiring of the brain is very much dependent on stable, nurturing relationships with highly engaged adults.

If you've got those three things, then you're in in pretty good shape.

>> We know that the first five years are really a strong building block in terms of being prepared for kindergarten.

And when you're prepared for kindergarten, it has a pretty long lasting impact.

You have a higher chance to succeed in high school or graduate high school.

If you graduate high school, of course that can lead to lifelong outcomes.

And so it's really about focusing on those very, very early years.

And what we can do to make those as rich as possible to make sure that our children have the greatest chance of success in life.

(gentle bright music) >> Narrator: When the unknown feels overwhelming, having support is a lifeline.

We may feel vulnerable asking for help, yet there is power in advocacy.

A helping hand can bring a new perspective, focus and give us an opportunity to catch our breath.

The most important thing is that you're doing your best and that's enough.

Trust your instincts, embrace the differences, and know that there is no one else who can parent your child the way you can.

Help is part of the early childhood development journey.

Every child is different and every parent is different.

(gentle bright music) >> Presenter 1: Legacy Foundation is Lake County's Community Foundation.

For over 30 years, we've partnered with donors and nonprofits focusing on youth development, the arts, the environment, health, literacy, and other causes that matter to you.

We're committed to Lake County forever.

First Things First Porter County is dedicated to supporting families, healthy beginnings and quality early learning, ensuring every Porter County baby is born prepared for a strong start in life.

Learn more at firstthingspc.org.

(lively upbeat music) >> I have a very strong connection to other students.

Everyone makes an effort to help each other.

I'll remember the feeling of being here, the feeling that I was a part of a family (lively upbeat music fades) >> Presenter 2: Routine visits with a pediatrician are vital to a child's development.

That's why at North Shore Health Centers, pediatricians provide quality care to every child, every time, ensuring that your child is reaching their developmental milestones and are up to date on their vaccines.

Learn more at northshorehealth.org.

>> Presenter 3: Doing as much as you can, as quickly as you can is important to me.

Life is short.

And the earlier we get started helping our community, the better off our community will be.

(gentle light quirky music) >> Presenter 4: Additional support for Building Blocks is provided generously by Tom Sourlis and Sue Eleuterio, as well as Porter County Community Foundation serving Porter County since 1996.

Additional support for local programming and Lake Shore Public Media is provided by viewers like you.

Thank you.

Dr. Mary Jane Eisenhauer hosts candid conversation with local experts, practitioners, and policy makers bringing focus to ways we can support our youngest citizens.

Find the Building Blocks podcast library at buildingblocksinfo.org.

(gentle light quirky music)