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Family Focus Hub

Welcome to Summit DD's Family Focus Hub! This is your guide to Early Intervention strategies, tips and local events to help your family get the most out of your Early Intervention experience. Check out the resources below.

Top Topic: Communication Development

Learn simple, effective ways to support your child’s developing communication. Explore easy strategies you can use during everyday routines to help them grow and learn.

Learn about the stages of communication development
Young mom playfully lifting small baby up in the air

Communication: Imitation

Imitation is one of the first building blocks of communication. Find simple ways to incorporate learning in everyday play to help your baby grow and practice their communication skills.

Learn about imitation

Babbling

Learn how your baby’s early sounds and babbling lay the groundwork for future words, and discover how simple back-and-forth moments can help their communication blossom.

Learn about the significance of babbling

Serve-Return: Circles of Communication

Discover how simple serve-return moments can strengthen your child’s communication skills by building back-and-forth interaction and helping you recognize how they’re already communicating.

What is serve-return?

Simple Sign Language

Modeling a few simple signs with target words can give a child more to imitate. Discover resources to help you incorporate simple signs to support your child's communication development.

Find sign language resources
Father and baby daughter sitting together using digital tablet to learn or communicate

Augmentative and Alternative Communication

Sometimes additional help is needed to develop communication skills. Using Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC) makes sense to support early learners by giving them more options for communication if the words are not coming along as expected.

Learn more about augmentative and alternative communication

Community Resources

Explore free book programs and toy-lending resources that spark imagination, encourage language development, and create meaningful moments together.

Discover fun and engaging ways to support your child’s communication through play.
Mom, dad and baby sitting on the floor near couch reading a book to their toddler daughter
father placing crib mattress into crib

Baby Supplies

In need of baby supplies or furniture, like cribs? The United Way of Summit and Medina has a database of local organizations that may be able to help. Check out their 2-1-1 Resources page for more information.

Search by location or need at 2-1-1

Concerned About Your Child's Development?

If your child is missing milestones, Early Intervention may be key to their development. Ohio offers a free assessment tool to help you know if your child could benefit from EI services. Or you can contact our partner, Ohio Early Intervention (commonly known as Help Me Grow) to make a referral and find out if your child is eligible.    

Make a referral to Ohio Early Intervention

Family Focus Archive

Missed the last issue? Curious about past articles, tips or resources? No worries! We have all the information at your fingertips. Visit our Family Focus archive to see what you may have missed.

Go to the archive
Close up of baby girl with ponytail smiling with her dad

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