Cuyahoga DD Early Intervention Improves Lives, Survey Results

CLEVELAND, Sept. 30, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- The Cuyahoga County Board of Developmental Disabilities (Cuyahoga DD) Early Intervention team surpassed statewide positive responses in 12 of 13 areas of the Ohio Department of Children & Youth 2026 EI Family Questionnaire.

Likewise, Cuyahoga DD Early Intervention (EI) improved in 12 of 13 areas from 2025 to 2026; in many cases, scores improved by five or more points.

Cuyahoga DD EI therapists have increasingly helped parents:

• Communicate their child's needs: 97.57% over 92.28% (2025)
• Help their child learn and develop: 95.93% over 91.36% (2025)
• Better understand their child's social-emotional needs: 93.46% over 83.92% (2025)

"This improvement is not an accident," said Lori Mago, director, Cuyahoga DD Assistive Technology and Children's Services. "In the past year, we have increased our professionals' training and expertise in social-emotional development."

"I'm thrilled with the replies, and grateful to families who personally complimented their EI staff," Mago said.

Cuyahoga DD EI also earned 98.11% that families are "likely to recommend Early Intervention to another family" over 94.12% (2025).

Family Perspective

Lisa Scharfenort agrees. "Eliza is a great testament to the benefit of the EI program," she said.

She knew from experience that her daughter was developmentally delayed. "When Eliza was 18 months, she wasn't babbling… she wouldn't mimic. People said, 'oh, she's little….' But we went through EI with her older brother, so I knew the signs," she said.

In December 2025, they started working with Cuyahoga DD EI Speech-Language Pathologist Renee Farmerie.

"Renee suspected that Eliza had apraxia, which limits the mind-body connection. We can tell now, Eliza's wires are starting to connect as they should," Scharfenort said.

"In less than a year, Eliza went from not babbling to communicating in almost full sentences: enough so I understand her meaning," she said. "It's made a huge difference in our lives."

Watch a video about Cuyahoga DD's EI services: https://youtu.be/kv5iroLH00c

About Cuyahoga DD
The Cuyahoga County Board of Developmental Disabilities (Cuyahoga DD) supports and empowers people with developmental disabilities to live, learn, work and play in the community. Proudly serving more than 15,000 county residents from birth through adulthood, Cuyahoga DD is primarily supported by a property-tax levy last approved by voters in 2005. Learn more at www.CuyahogaDD.org.

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SOURCE Cuyahoga County Board of Developmental Disabilities