Make the First Five Count
Helping children with disabilities reach their full potential
Every year, millions of young children with unidentified disabilities enter school with learning and health issues that put them far behind their peers and have a lasting, negative effect on their ability to meet their full potential.
When kids get the right treatment and therapy they need before the age of 5, they are ready to learn alongside their peers, build lifelong skills and achieve their dreams.
Young children with special needs and developmental delays can succeed in school alongside their peers if they receive early intervention services – therapies that work to strengthen their physical, social, emotional and intellectual abilities at a very young age.
As the largest provider of early intervention services, Easterseals staff, therapists and families know what’s possible when kids get the support they need during the first few years of life and what happens when they don’t. But as a nation, we don’t invest nearly enough in early detection and treatment for young children before the age of 5, even though it’s incredibly effective and more than pays for itself.
That’s why Easterseals launched Make the First Five Count. It’s designed to give children at risk of developmental delays or disabilities the right support they need to be school-ready and build a foundation for a lifetime of learning.