Bridging Worlds with Early Intervention
Category: Client Stories
May 20, 2026
The story of Emilia and her family is an example of how Early Childhood Intervention (ECI) supports a child's development, and the entire family's ability to connect and thrive.
How ECI Helped an Austin Family
In a living room in Austin, Texas, a two-year-old girl named Emilia runs around with a toy rabbit, saying “hop, hop, hop!” It’s a joyful, ordinary moment, but for her parents, it represents a hard-won victory.
Emilia is a hearing child born to Deaf parents. In fact, she’s the only hearing person in her family. Her story is a powerful testament to what happens when Any Baby Can meets families exactly where they are.
Research by demographer Jerome Schein shows that approximately 90% of children born to Deaf parents are hearing (source: Harvard University Press). These children are often referred to as CODAs (Children of Deaf Adults). The parents’ primary language is American Sign Language (ASL). But the child’s development involves spoken language. This creates a specialized need for support that ECI is designed to provide.
After two Deaf children, Emilia’s parents settled into a "Deaf household" routine. The birth of a hearing child can be a surprise that requires the family to suddenly re-introduce "sound" into their home—buying monitors with lights, finding speech therapy, and navigating a world of sound they hadn't planned for
Navigating Two Different Worlds
When Emilia was six months old, her parents noticed she wasn’t hitting typical milestones. She wasn’t rolling over or sitting up, and she seemed to retreat into her own world, avoiding eye contact and social interaction.
For her mom Veronica, the struggle was twofold. Not only was her youngest daughter facing physical delays, but they faced a unique hurdle: How do you support the spoken language development of a hearing child when you cannot hear her yourself?
“It was just so hard,” Veronica recalls. “I was not used to that kind of baby. I watched her struggle.”
Early Intervention for Motor Skills and Speech Therapy
When Emilia was six months old, her parents noticed she wasn’t hitting typical milestones. She wasn’t rolling over or sitting up, and she seemed to retreat into her own world, avoiding eye contact and social interaction.
For her mom Veronica, the struggle was twofold. Not only was her youngest daughter facing physical delays, but they faced a unique hurdle: How do you support the spoken language development of a hearing child when you cannot hear her yourself?
The family was enrolled in Any Baby Can’s Early Childhood Intervention (ECI) services. They were matched with Kaylin, a bilingual speech therapist (English/American Sign Language) at Any Baby Can.
Having a therapist who could sign directly with the parents while working on Emilia's vocalization was a game-changer. Over the course of two years, the team provided:
- Occupational and Physical Therapy: Helping Emilia go from weak gross motor skills to gain physical independence.
- Speech Therapy: Teaching Emilia to bridge visual aids, baby signs, ASL and spoken English.
- Autism Support: Helping the family understand and adapt to Emilia's likely diagnosis, particularly new ways to encourage eye contact—a pivotal element of Deaf culture.
- Community Resources: Connecting the family to SNAP, daycare applications, and Adopt-a-Family for the holidays.
Through two years of weekly visits with Kaylin, the family has transformed. Emilia overcame her motor delays and is now running, jumping and feeding herself. Despite a likely autism diagnosis which introduced new hurdles, Emilia can now better express her needs. She uses a mix of signs and a growing English vocabulary to communicate with her parents and play with her sisters.
From Isolation to Connection
Today, the struggle of those early months has been replaced by smiles and laughter. Emilia’s motor skills have caught up, and her personality is blooming.
“She’s talking a lot more,” shares Veronica. “I see her mouth moving all the time! She says mama, papa, ball, bubble, and counts on her hands. I notice she’s talking to herself in the rearview mirror when I drive.”
The impact has reached the whole family. Emilia’s two older sisters, who attend the Texas School for the Deaf, now play peekaboo and build blocks with her. Emilia’s father notes how much more she can do and participate with the family.
"We’re Deaf, so giving her English was going to be really hard for us," Emilia's dad says. "It’s wonderful to have people come in and help and give us the opportunity to make her better."
Looking Forward: A Bright Future in Austin
As Emilia prepares to transition into a preschool program in Austin, she does so with confidence—although mom is still nervous about her baby going off to school! She can express her needs, follow directions, and she’s learning to connect with people.
The family is now transitioned from "just trying to figure it out" to feeling empowered and connected to their Austin community.
At Any Baby Can, our goal is to ensure that every child—and every parent—has the tools they need to succeed. Emilia’s journey from 6 months to 2 years proves that with the right support, there are no limits to what a family can achieve.
Do you have concerns about your child's development? Learn more about our Early Childhood Intervention services and how we support families across Central Texas.
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