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Early Intervention for a Strong Start

Mothers sit in a circle, smiling and waving their hands, while their babies sit in their laps.

Early Intervention for a Strong Start

Giving Your Child the Best Beginning

Helping your child develop language and communication skills early on is one of the most important ways you can support your child's growth. Early intervention providers can partner in this strong start! Research shows that early intervention leads to stronger language development and better communication outcomes.

As a partner, early intervention providers will work with you to:

  • Learn and understand what it means to be deaf or hard of hearing.
  • Increase confidence in parenting a child who is deaf or hard of hearing.
  • Learn to identify family strengths and build on them.
  • Identify priorities for early intervention.
  • Learn to recognize how your child is trying to communicate so you can support and build on conversations.
  • Learn strategies for promoting language (spoken and/or signed) and learning in everyday routines.
  • Learn ways to turn everyday routines (diapering, feeding) into opportunities for encouraging your child’s language growth.
  • Identify family and community resources.

Eight Reasons to Say YES to Early Intervention [PDF]

Two toddler girls playing in classroom setting

Early On

Early On is Michigan's system for helping families of infants and toddlers, birth to age 3 who have developmental delay(s) and/or disabilities. Early On supports and partners with families to promote the development of their infants and toddlers in developmental areas, such as:

  • physical (reaching, rolling, crawling, and walking)
  • cognitive (thinking, learning, solving problems)
  • communication (talking, listening, understanding, gesturing)
  • social-emotional (feeling secure, able to calm, playing with others)
  • self-help (eating, dressing)

Early On partners with families, using their daily routines to work on supporting the growth and development of their babies. Learn more at 1800EarlyOn.org. If your child is 0-3, start early intervention with an Early On referral.

Build Up Video

Build Up

Build Up helps parents and their children, ages 3-5, get additional educational support as they begin and continue to learn the skills needed to enter kindergarten. Children who are not meeting milestones and/or are struggling to learn may need additional supports to help them prepare for kindergarten.

Special education programs and/or supports are available to children ages 3, 4, and 5 through the local school district. Intervening as early as possible helps to develop skills to strengthen the child's foundation for future learning.

If you have a concern that your child has a delay that is affecting his or her learning, contact the Build Up coordinator in your area. Your coordinator will explain the resources available and help determine the next best steps for your 3-, 4-, or 5-year-old.