About Us
Volunteer and Employment Opportunities
Annual Report
We fulfill the First Steps mission through three programs. Our Child Development Center is an inclusive preschool for children with special needs and typically developing children through age six. Pediatric Therapy provides Physical, Occupational, Speech, and Feeding Therapy to children with special needs. The Community Outreach Program serves children ages birth to three in the home and other community-based settings. Annually, First Steps reaches over 1,000 children.
We serve children with a wide range of special needs and medical conditions such as autism spectrum disorders, Down syndrome, cerebral palsy, traumatic brain injury, failure to thrive, seizure disorders, trisomy 13, developmental delays, G-tubes, and many more.
Organizational History
First Steps began providing daycare services for children with exceptional needs in 1958. In 1998, the Community Outreach Program was added to provide early intervention services to children with special needs in community-based settings. The program was expanded in 2007 to include Spanish-speaking families following a merger with Outlook Nashville. In 2010, we moved into our permanent First Steps home in the McWhorter Family Children’s Center Green Hills, and two years later added Pediatric Therapy services for children with special needs. For more than 60 years, First Steps has worked to nurture each child we serve, meeting their unique needs and supporting their families.
Our Leadership
Executive Director
Heather Higgins
Working with persons with disabilities has been a lifelong passion for me. I’m so fortunate to be able to work alongside others who share that passion at First Steps.