Earlier this month, Lori Sivazlian was 7,000 miles away, meeting with the leaders from World Vision Program and UNICEF to bring early-intervention and special-education services to Armenian children with developmental and physical disabilities.

Today, she is enriching the lives of children with developmental disabilities and their families at the Exceptional Children's Foundation (ECF) Early Start program in Arleta.

Sivazlian's tireless and passionate pursuit of early-intervention services, therapies and educational programs for children with disabilities has inspired the simultaneous growth of two programs continents apart.

Arleta is one of three ECF Early Start programs in Los Angeles County. Early Start provides education and various therapies to children with developmental and learning delays, while their families gain a vast support network and insight into the needs and progress of their children.

Since Early Start Program Manager Sivazlian joined ECF 16 years ago, the Arleta location has expanded from serving 30 children and their families to 220 today.

Arleta's Early Start is as much a program for the children it serves as a support system for their families. Parents participate each day and sibling involvement is encouraged through the inclusion program, which allows "typical" siblings to participate alongside those enrolled in Early Start.

This fosters compassion and understanding by the typical children while providing a model of behaviors and skills from which the children with disabilities can learn.

Early Start is a free program that operates out of Arleta's Trinity Methodist Church, 14061 Terra Bella St.

Not only does ECF provide therapies and education, but also offers field trips to locations such as Disneyland and the Long Beach Aquarium.

"Due to the socio-economic status of most of our families, we know that they wouldn't be able to go to these places otherwise," Sivazlian said. "We are always looking for donations for everything from purchasing equipment to underwriting the busses for our outings."

ECF supports Sivazlian's work in Armenia, allowing her to travel there two or three times a year for two weeks at a time to continue building on the progress she has made for Armenian children with disabilities.

"I am grateful for the support ECF gives me," she said. "This is an opportunity for me to combine the knowledge I have gained at ECF with my heritage."

The program she has created in Armenia is modeled after ECF's Early Start.

While born in the United States, Sivazlian is very ingrained in her culture and in helping parents in Armenia recognize that there is a future for children with disabilities. Her visits to Armenia began ten years ago.

During her early visits to Armenia, Sivazlian never saw any children with disabilities. A little digging revealed that these children were placed in orphanages soon after birth.

No system existed to support parents or provide early intervention to the children. No one realized the degree to which children with challenges can lead healthy, productive and long lives.

The turning point came in 2002 when Sivazlian visited with two crying mothers in a pediatric hospital. She learned that the doctor had recommended that each of their infants be sent to an orphanage because they had been born with mild disabilities.

After encouraging the mothers to keep their newborns, she promised to visit every three months to teach the mothers how to care for, teach and nurture their babies.

Her next promise took it a step further - to rent space and open a school dedicated to teaching parents and their children with disabilities.

To fulfill this promise, Sivazlian founded Nreni Early Intervention Program five years ago. Nreni, which means baby pomegranate in Armenian - the national fruit of Armenia, is a nonprofit organization dedicated to raising awareness of and funds for the program in Armenia.

Family and friends are Nreni's primary supporters raising enough money to pay all of the program's expenses, including rent, salaries and equipment.

The children Sivazlian met in 2002 are among the 60 children enrolled in the program today. Another 30 are on a waiting list. The program provides therapy and education to participants and their families.

Sivazlian continues her crusade to educate government officials and community leaders in Armenia in the value of programs for people with developmental disabilities beginning with a fundamental understanding of what early intervention is.

"Brain development in the first few years of life impacts the rest of one's ability to learn and grow," she said. "That is why early intervention is especially critical to the long-term development of a child with challenges."

She also hopes to shift the paradigm of disabilities and help doctors understand that kids born with Down syndrome, cerebral palsy or some other disability needn't be committed to orphanages. "We have worked with the universities to create internship programs for special education and early childhood development," she said.

Sivazlian's two daughters are among her greatest supporters. Aleena, 16, and Alexa, 11, come to Early Start to play with the children and have traveled to Armenia to help their mother.

They support the missions of both ECF and Nreni through fundraisers of their own throughout the year. Knowing that 80 percent of ECF's Early Start families live below the poverty line, the girls raise money to buy holiday gifts for the children every year. They also raise money to buy toys and supplies for the children in Armenia.

"As members of a family that places high value on helping others in need, my daughters have learned to be grateful for what they have and to accept others as they are without focusing on our differences."

Anyone interested in supporting Arleta's Early Start program can contact the Exceptional Children's Foundation (ECF) at 310-204-3300.