June 5, 2006

Early Childhood Intervention Can Change Lives

(Hondo, TX)  On March 5, the Craft Family of Hondo, Texas received the news that they would receive a beautiful and renovated home thanks to “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition.”

The family had been nominated by the students of D’Hanis High School where Todd Craft is a coach.

Coach Craft and his wife, Elizabeth, have four children:  Samantha (11), Sarah (8), Isabella (3) and Todd Joseph (1).

While it is an amazing story that the “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition” design team, contractors and hundreds of workers and volunteers, along with Kermit the Frog, transformed the Craft house into a dream home, the more inspirational story is Isabella.

Isabella was born with a serious brain malformation in 2001 - alobar holoprosencephaly, a brain with a single lobe instead of two.

“Her doctors told us Isabella would never hear, see or walk.  They said she would likely die before her first birthday,” said Elizabeth Craft.

“We could tell immediately they were wrong.  We could see Isabella respond to auditory and visual stimulation,” said Elizabeth.

Before Isabella left the hospital, the Crafts were referred to Hill Country Community MHMR Center, the provider of ECI (Early Childhood Intervention) services in Medina County.

“Jay Aalsma, a service coordinator at Hondo Homespun, met with us in our home to discuss Isabella’s condition and her rehabilitation needs,” said Todd.

ECI is a statewide program for families with children, birth to three, with disabilities and developmental delays.  ECI goes to the family and focuses on working with the child and family in their natural environment, such as a home or child care center.

Workers offer assistance based on a plan developed with the family. They provide parents and caregivers with information, tools and techniques needed to help the child develop their fine and gross motors skills, their expressive and receptive language skills and their social and self-help skills.

“Although ECI staff goes into the home to provide these services, we insure that the family participates so the interventions can be provided directly by family members and caregivers in our absence,” said Aalsma.

The Hondo team for ECI recognized that Isabella needed physical and visual stimulation in order to build memory and develop to her fullest potential.

Isabella began receiving ECI services within the first two months of her life. She received Developmental Services, Physical Therapy, Occupational Therapy, Speech Therapy, Nutrition Services, and Service Coordination. Hondo ISD provided services for her visual impairment.

But the Craft family’s involvement with Isabella is the most significant factor of her development.  ECI is based on the belief that the family is the most important teacher in a young child’s life. Elizabeth Craft and the entire family took the hours of therapy provided and turned them into daily routines that support Isabella’s continued development.

“Through sensory stimulation, Isabella began to show improvement in her vision and physical response.  Although legally blind, she can see well enough to reach for her toys,” said Elizabeth.

Isabella now attends school each day from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. qualifying as a “miracle child,” considering most of the children with her condition die before birth.  “Her teacher believes Isabella can be integrated into a regular classroom someday,” Elizabeth said.

ECI is available to a child from birth to the age of 3.  Services are then provided through the local school district.

Isabella has beaten the odds and is continuing to thrive, although she cannot walk and still has trouble holding her head up.

“I hope that she will be able to walk.  Right now she can’t bear weight but the best part of Extreme Makeover are the devices and improvements to our new home that aid in the lifting, bathing and movement of Isabella.  This will allow her to continue to live and grow in her home,” said Elizabeth.

Hill Country Community MHMR Center, headquartered in Kerrville, provides ECI services in 15 counties – Bandera, Blanco, Comal, Gillespie, Hays, Kendall, Kerr, Kimble, Kinney, Llano, Mason, Medina, Menard, Real, and Uvalde.

For more information about ECI, contact Hill Country MHMR at (830)792-3300, ECI Homespun’s toll free number (888)827-7063, or visit their website at www.hillcountry.org.