Charlie Kovach loves going to school. 

On the days when he goes to Little Learners Preschool, he gets so excited he runs to get his backpack and kisses it before putting it on! 

Since he started this fall, his communication has increased and he’s making friends.

“It’s helped him get into a routine and he’s really thriving,” said his mother, Sara Kovach 

Charlie just celebrated his fourth birthday, proudly blowing out his candles for the first time. It’s one of the many milestones his family has celebrated over the past few years. 

When Charlie was a baby he was referred to an ophthalmologist for vision concerns and started physical therapy to strengthen his neck muscles.  Sara and her husband Alex became even more alarmed as time went on and their son wasn’t rolling over or sitting on his own.

When they reached out for help, their pediatrician shared information about Ohio Early Intervention (EI). 

Provided in Licking County by the Licking County Board of Developmental Disabilities (LCBDD), Early Intervention  is a statewide program that supports children, from birth to age 3, with developmental delays or disabilities. Services are provided at no cost to families in their homes, where children learn best.

Sara and Alex weren’t familiar with the program, until a friend shared how much it had helped her child. 

Service Coordinator Abbie Tulka came to do an evaluation with Charlie and Sara immediately felt comfortable.

“It was a breath of fresh air for me,” she said. “Just to have people there to help me navigate the things we were going through.”

Charlie began working with LCBDD Speech Therapist Janelle Pickens, who not only helped with communication but offered suggestions for his mobility and sensory needs.

“She’s amazing, I can’t say enough good things about Janelle,”  Sara said. “She helped to get him moving and walking, gave us games that we could play. She showed me how to communicate in a way that helped him communicate.”

As Charlie was meeting his goals in Early Intervention, his family was also working with his medical team to find a diagnosis.

Testing ultimately revealed an extremely rare genetic condition — known to affect only 20 children — caused many of his developmental delays. He is missing a part of his brain stem, has ataxic cerebral palsy and was later diagnosed with autism. 

As more information emerged, the EI team continued to share new ideas and coach his family on ways they could support him.

“Everyone I’ve worked with is so helpful and has so many ideas to help Charlie,” Sara said. “Everything has been play-based which is great for him. It helps me learn how to play with him.”

As his third birthday approached, Abbie and Janelle worked to help the Kovachs prepare for both the transition to preschool and to LCBDD’s Early Childhood team. Now they work with Service Coordinator Rachel Harper and Developmental Specialist Diane Dodson visits once a month.

“It’s been the perfect transition,” Sara said. “We are working on getting him more independent, doing things on his own, exploring his interests and having fun.”

Charlie has gone from walking to running and jumping. He loves to swim, listen to music, play outside and wrestle with his older siblings, Hailey and Andrew. He is still working on speech and his family is hopeful that he will be able to use a communication device when he gets older.

The Kovachs were able to use Family Support Services (FSS) funds for therapy equipment, as well as a Y membership, which has been great for their whole family.

Although Charlie’s diagnosis is rare, the support of the LCBDD team, therapists, teachers, doctors, and friends has helped their family feel surrounded by support,

“Just having that partnership to help you navigate this world (of having a child with a disability) — you do a lot of advocating for your child —  to have someone help you go through that journey has been huge,” Sara said.