When Garrett Egler, 2, kicks a ball or climbs the steps, he celebrates by clapping his hands and flashing a huge smile.

His parents, Danielle and Josh, encourage him with cheers and applause. Seeing their little boy walking outside, running around the living room  and snacking on puffs are milestones they are thrilled to celebrate. 

Garrett was born at 24 weeks — around 4 months early — and weighed 1 pound 3 ounces. He spent eight months in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) at Nationwide Children’s Hospital and faced an uphill battle, with several surgeries and lots of therapies.

“There were a lot of scary situations,” Danielle said. “But when he came home, he really started to flourish.”

While he was in the hospital, the staff at Children’s recommended the Eglers contact Ohio Early Intervention. They reached out to the program once he was discharged.

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. Babies who are born premature are often eligible for the program.

Services are provided at no cost to families in their homes, where children learn best.

Garrett started EI when he was 10 months old. At that time he couldn’t lift his head and was using oxygen and a feeding tube. 

LCBDD Occupational Therapist Karlie Fleak coached Danielle and Josh on ways they could help Garrett get stronger. As the months went by, he started rolling, drinking from a bottle and eventually trying different foods.

When he started walking in July, his parents were thrilled as they watched them explore his world in a new way.

He loves to play with his cars, play outside and go for walks and loves playing in the bathtub. He’s a big fan of Winnie the Pooh, and loves to be silly.

“It’s been so fun to see him becoming his own person,” Danielle said. “He has made so much progress.”

Garrett has had so many medical appointments, especially when he he had just come home from the hospital. It was a huge relief that Karlie was able to do visits at their Pataskala home.

“The fact that you came to us — it was really helpful to be in our own home and get the help we needed.”

His family is looking forward to helping Garrett continue to try new foods, and eventually, be completely off his feeding tube. He’s doing a great job using sign language and trying new words and they are excited to see his speech grow.

He recently did a visit with LCBDD Physical Therapist Brenna Sabo, who gave some suggestions for fun activities that could help strengthen his legs and feet. 

As they think about daycare or preschool in the future, the Eglers are thankful that Karlie — and their LCBDD Service Coordinator Jenn Darr — will be there to help them with the transition.

“We’ve built relationships with the people who come over and it’s helped me too,” Danielle said. 

“It’s made me feel like I’m doing a good job and I’m more confident in my abilities as a parent.”

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.