Every week, Halie Haycraft comes up with a speech goal for her 2-year-old son Koleson.

Recently he has been working on two-word phrases like “Let’s go,” “Eat snack” or “Get down!”

They are currently practicing saying, “Love you” before he goes to sleep at night. 

Usually by the end of the week, he’s met or surpassed his goal and is on to the next.

“This time last year, he was using about two words,” Halie said. “Now he’s using over 50!”

Weekly visits with LCBDD Speech Therapist Janelle Pickens help him stay on track. But most of the words he learns — like “Football!” — he picks up during daily life, including his siblings’ sports events or trips to the store.

Halie, his father Tanner, siblings — Maliha, Nova and Karter —  and his grandparents have all been working together to help him learn new words and communicate the things he wants. 

“He has come really, really far,” Halie said.

Halie’s older children were very chatty as toddlers, so she was surprised that Koleson was so quiet after his first birthday. 

“It didn’t seem like he could talk,” she said. “He wanted to, but he couldn’t.”

Koleson would get so frustrated that he would often hit when he couldn’t express what he wanted.

As his second birthday approached, and he still wasn’t talking, Halie became more concerned. She reached out to her pediatrician who made a referral to Ohio Early Intervention. 

Provided in Licking County by the Licking County Board of Developmental Disabilities, Early Intervention (EI)  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.

After an assessment confirmed a speech delay, the Haycrafts began working with Service Coordinator Abbie Tulka — as well as Janelle — to give Koleson more communication tools.

“Janelle was able to give me some direction of where to go,” Haloe said. “At first I was feeling very defeated and she assured me that he would get there, we just had to use the right tools.”

Janelle began teaching him sign language, which he picked up right away. Using Family Support Services (FSS) funds, the Haycrafts built several kits of speech therapy toys that Koleson could play with while he was working on communication. Now he looks forward to getting them out during visits.

They also were able to use FSS to attend the Play Connection and Little Arrows Play Cafe, so Koleson could practice new words and engage with other toddlers.

His excitement, persistence and connection with Janelle all helped him learn fast, Halie said.

Most parents aren’t always thrilled hearing their child say “NO!” but with Koleson it was cause for celebration.

“He didn’t say the word ‘Mom’ until after he was 2, so when he said it, I burst into tears,” Halie said. 

Now she’s hearing new words and phrases — like, “I don’t know,”  all the time. Koleson regularly chatters during imaginative play and his personality and sense of humor are starting to really shine through.

Koleson loves visits with Janelle and gets excited to tell her new words and show off his toys.

“I really think that without Early Intervention, we wouldn’t have gotten as far as we’ve had,” she said. 

EI is built on a model of parent coaching — empowering caregivers to help their children learn and grow, Abbie said.

“We can give you the road map,” she said to Halie. “But his success is a testament to the work you are doing day in and day out with him.” 

It has been great to see Janelle and Halie working together as a team to come up with ways that speech therapy can be part of Koleson’s daily routine. But Halie’s persistence has been the key.

“This is what it looks like to truly embrace the coaching model,” Abbie said. “Halie dedicates the time between visits and she hits it out of the park every time.” 

For more information about Early Intervention in Licking County, go to https://lcountydd.org/birth-to-3/. To make an EI referral, please call 1-800-755-4769. You can also make a secure online referral at http://bit.ly/ReferToHMG.