Your Baby Deserves A Good Start!

Learning and development is the most rapid in the first three years of a child's life. That's why it's important to give a child the best start possible. The earlier a child with a disability or a developmental delay is identified and gets help, the less likely the child will need special services later in life.

Tot-To-Tot

Developmental Therapy is provided through the First Steps program to children birth to three who are developmentally delayed or at risk for delays due to a medical condition or biological factors. Developmental therapists provide services in the child's home or other natural environment. Developmental therapy includes all the developmental domains including physical, social-emotional, communication, cognition, and self-help skills.

Service Coordination

Service Coordinators work with First Steps families to ensure their rights and satisfaction with services. The On-going Service Coordinator assists the family in developing an Individual Family Service Plan (IFSP) each year which outlines desired outcomes and services to be provided. The Service Coordinator monitors the plan and makes any changes throughout the year as requested by the IFSP team. The Service Coordinator is also responsible for helping families prepare for the transition from First Steps to other programming when the child turns three years old.

Toddler Playgroup

The toddler playgroup focuses on developmental skills through play activities for toddlers 18 months to 3 years old who have developmental delays. It meets two mornings per week and is funded through WHAS Crusade fo Children.

Developmental Therapy and Service Coordination is provided through the First Steps program. First Steps is a statewide program administered by the Family and Social Services Administration through the Bureau of Child Development. For more information or to make a referral of a child in Orange County, please call First Steps of Southern Indiana at 1-800-941-2450. To view the entire First Steps program, see www.state.in.us/fssa/first_step/index.html