Easterseals Eastern Pennsylvania

Easterseals Eastern Pennsylvania is a non-profit organization with offices at 1501 Lehigh Street, Suite 201, in Allentown, Pennsylvania. The affiliate is part of the national Easterseals network, one of the oldest and largest disability services organizations in the United States. Its work centers on children and adults with disabilities, developmental delays, and other special needs, along with the families and caregivers who support them. The Allentown office serves as an administrative and program hub for services delivered across a multi-county region of eastern Pennsylvania, including the Lehigh Valley and surrounding communities.

The organization can be reached by telephone at +1 610-289-0114, and additional program information is published at eastpa.easterseals.com.

Background and the Easterseals Network

The national Easterseals organization traces its origins to 1919, when Ohio businessman Edgar Allen founded what was then called the National Society for Crippled Children after his son died in a streetcar accident and Allen discovered how limited medical care for children was in his community. The organization later adopted the name Easterseals, drawn from the seals it sold as a fundraising campaign each spring beginning in the 1930s. Over the following century, the network expanded into a federation of independently operated affiliates, each responsible for delivering services suited to its own region while sharing the national mission of expanding access, equity, and inclusion for people with disabilities.

Easterseals Eastern Pennsylvania operates within that structure as a regional affiliate. Like other affiliates, it is governed locally and funds its work through a combination of government contracts, insurance reimbursement, foundation grants, corporate partnerships, and individual donations. This mix allows the organization to serve families across a range of income levels and insurance situations, with many early intervention services provided at no direct cost to families because they are funded through county and state systems.

Services for Children

Much of the organization's work involves young children with developmental delays and disabilities. Services in this category commonly include:

• Early intervention programs for infants and toddlers, often delivered in the child's home or in another familiar setting such as a day care center
• Developmental evaluations and screenings to identify delays in areas such as communication, motor skills, cognition, and social development
• Physical therapy focused on mobility, strength, balance, and gross motor milestones
• Occupational therapy addressing fine motor skills, sensory processing, feeding, and daily living activities
• Speech and language therapy for articulation, expressive and receptive language, and alternative or augmentative communication
• Special instruction and developmental therapy that coaches families on strategies they can use throughout the day
• Support for children with autism spectrum disorder, including services aimed at communication, behavior, and social interaction

Early intervention in Pennsylvania is organized through a statewide system in which counties and the Commonwealth coordinate services for children from birth to age three, with school districts and intermediate units taking over for preschool-age children. Providers such as Easterseals Eastern Pennsylvania contract within this system, which means families often begin the process through a county referral or a pediatrician's recommendation. Staff members typically work alongside parents rather than apart from them, since research in the field has consistently shown that skills generalize best when caregivers practice strategies during everyday routines like mealtimes, dressing, and play.

Services for Adults and Families

Beyond childhood programs, Easterseals affiliates frequently provide adult day services, employment and job training support, caregiver respite, assistive technology guidance, and community inclusion programming. Offerings vary by region and by funding availability, so prospective participants are generally advised to call the Allentown office to confirm what is currently available in their county and whether eligibility requirements apply. Family support is a consistent thread across the organization's work, with case coordination, referrals to outside resources, and help navigating insurance, Medicaid waivers, and school-based services often accompanying direct therapy.

Location and Service Area

The Lehigh Street address places the office in south Allentown, an accessible corridor for residents of Lehigh and Northampton counties and convenient to Interstate 78, Route 309, and the Lehigh Valley Thruway. Allentown is Pennsylvania's third largest city and the population center of the Lehigh Valley, which makes it a practical base for an organization whose staff travel to homes, child care centers, and community sites throughout the region. Depending on the program, services may extend into neighboring counties in eastern Pennsylvania, including areas of the Poconos, Berks County, and the anthracite region to the northwest.

Because a substantial share of pediatric services are delivered where the child already spends time, many families interact with therapists in their own living rooms or at their child's day care rather than at the Allentown office. The office itself functions primarily for administration, intake, meetings, and certain clinic-based or group activities.

Accessibility and Practical Information

The Allentown location is equipped with a wheelchair accessible entrance and a wheelchair accessible parking lot, features that matter considerably for an organization whose participants include people who use wheelchairs, walkers, and other mobility devices. Suite 201 is located within a multi-tenant building, and visitors who have questions about elevator access, entry points, or parking are encouraged to ask when scheduling an appointment.

Families considering services may find the following useful:

• Referrals for early intervention can often be initiated by a parent directly, without a physician's order, through the county early intervention office or the statewide CONNECT helpline
• Evaluations determine eligibility, and families participate in developing an individualized plan that lists goals and the services designed to meet them
• Appointments and program schedules should be confirmed by phone, since home-based visits are arranged around each family's routine
• Donations, volunteer opportunities, and fundraising events support programs that are not fully covered by contracts or insurance

Role in the Community

Organizations of this type occupy a specific place in the regional health and human services landscape, connecting public funding systems with the day-to-day needs of households raising children with disabilities. In a region as economically and linguistically varied as the Lehigh Valley, that role includes translating complex eligibility rules into plain guidance and helping families remain connected to services as children move from early intervention into preschool and school-age programs. For more than a century, the Easterseals name has been associated with that kind of continuity, and the eastern Pennsylvania affiliate carries out that work locally from its Allentown base.