Early childhood intervention

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Early childhood intervention is a support system for children with developmental disabilities or

delays and their families.

The mission of Early Childhood Intervention is to assure that families who have children ages birth to
three, with diagnosed disabilities, developmental delays or substantial risk of significant delays receive
resources and supports that assist them in maximizing their child's development while respecting the
diversity of families and communities. [1]

Contents
 [hide]

1 Definition

2 History
o 2.1 Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act
(IDEA) Part C

3 Meeting Developmental Milestones

o 3.1 Milestones Birth to Three

4 Early Intervention Services

5 Providing Early Childhood Intervention

6 References

7 External links

[edit] Definition
Early intervention is a system of coordinated services that promotes the child's growth and
development and supports families during the critical early years. Early intervention services to eligible
children and families are federally mandated through the Individuals with Disabilities Education
Act.Starting with a partnership between parents and professionals at this early stage helps the child,
family and community as a whole.

Early intervention services delivered within the context of the family can:

 Improve both developmental and educational gains;

 Reduce the future costs of special education, rehabilitation and health care needs;
 Reduce feelings of isolation, stress and frustration that families may experience; and
 Help children with disabilities grow up to become productive, independent individuals.

The earlier children with or at risk of disabilities receive assistance and the sooner their families
receive support towards their children's development, the farther they will go in life. [2]
[edit] History
Early childhood intervention came about as a natural progression from special education for children
with disabilities. Research showed that families who were supported earlier were more empowered to
advocate for their child later on (Guralnik, 1997). Many early childhood intervention support services
began as research units in universities (for example, Syracuse University in the United
States and Macquarie University in Australia) while others were developed out of organizations
helping older children.

In the 1990s, the many States in the US put into place a program where the child's pediatrician can
recommend a child for early childhood intervention screening. These services are usually provided
free of charge through the local school district.

[edit]Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act (IDEA)

Part C
The Part C (originally Part H) program mandates a statewide, comprehensive, multidisciplinary service
system to address the needs of infants and toddlers who are experiencing developmental delays or a
diagnosed physical or mental condition with a high probability of an associated developmental
disability in one or more of the following areas: cognitive development, physical development,
language and speech development, psychosocial development, and self-help skills. In addition, states
may opt to define and serve at-risk children. Commonly cited factors that may put an infant or toddler
at risk of developmental delay include low birth weight, respiratory distress as a newborn, lack of
oxygen, brain hemorrhage, infection, and prenatal exposure to toxins through maternal substance
abuse.

Every state now implements Part C fully. The original legislation provided a five-year phase-in period
for states to develop their comprehensive system of service for the affected population. Although IDEA
does not mandate states' participation in Part H/C, powerful financial incentives from the federal
government have led every state to participate. States were provided extensions of the 5-year period
as they struggled with the logistic, interagency, and financial demands of developing a statewide
system. To ensure a coordinated approach to service delivery and financing of services, federal
regulations of Part C require that states develop interagency agreements that define the financial
responsibility of each agency and impanel a state interagency coordinating council to assist the lead
agency in implementing the statewide system. Regulations also prohibit the substitution of funds and
reduction of benefits once the plan is implemented in each state (U.S. Department of Education,
1993). As states and federal territories (for example, Guam, Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands) began to
plan for implementation of P.L. 99-457 and later IDEA, their first obligation was to designate an agency
that would provide leadership in the planning and administration of the state's comprehensive system.
In 1989, 22 states or territories had the department of education as lead agency, 11 others had the
department of health, another 9 had the department of human services, and the remaining states had
combined departments or departments of mental health or developmental disabilities (Trohanis,
1989). [3]

[edit] Meeting Developmental Milestones

Every child is unique- growing and developing at his or her own rate. Most of the time differences
between children of the same age are nothing to worry about. But for one child in 10, the differences
can be related to a developmental delay. The sooner these delays are identified, the quicker children
may be able to catch up to their peers.

[edit]Milestones Birth to Three

At age one month, most children can...

 Raise their heads slightly when lying on their stomachs

 Briefly watch objects
 Pull away from a blanket on their face

At age three months, most children can...

 Lift their heads and chest while lying on their stomachs

 Make cooing sounds
 Follow a moving person with their eyes
 Smile back at someone

At age six months, most children can...

 Sit with minimal support

 Roll from their back to their stomach
 Respond to their name by looking

At age 12 months, most children can...

 Pull themselves up to stand and take steps with hands held

 Follow with their eyes in the direction that you are pointing
 Start a game of peek-a-boo, imitate clapping hands, point to show you something
 Say two or three words on a regular basis

At age 18 months, most children can...

 Walk backwards
 Walk down stairs holding an adult's hand
 Use words and gestures(like taking you by the hand) to get needs met
 Perform simple pretend play like talking on the phone, feeding a stuffed animal
At age 24 months, most children can...

 Kick a large ball

 Describe an injury or illness to an adult (bumped my head)
 Show interest in other children by offering them a toy or taking their hand

At age 32 months, most children can...

 Pretend to be an animal or favorite character

 Talk about the past/future
 Answer "what", "where", and "who" questions easily
 Imitate drawing a horizontal line after being shown
 Hold a crayon with 3 fingers
[4]

[edit] Early Intervention Services

The following is a list early intervention can provide.

 Assisting technology devices and services - equipment and services that are used to
improve or maintain the abilities of a child to participate in such activities as playing,
communication, eating or moving.

 Audiology - identifying and providing services for children with hearing loss and prevention of
hearing loss.

 Family training - services provided by qualified personnel to assist the family in

understanding the special needs of the child and in promoting the child’s development.

 Medical services - only for diagnostic or evaluation purposes.

 Nursing services - assessment of health status of the child for the purpose of providing
nursing care, and provision of nursing care to prevent health problems, restore and improve
functioning, and promote optimal health and development. This may include administering
medications, treatments, and other procedures prescribed by licensed physician.

 Nutrition services - services that help address the nutritional needs of children that include
identifying feeding skills, feeding problems, food habits, and food preferences.

 Occupational therapy - services that relate to self-help skills, adaptive behavior and play,
and sensory, motor, and postural development.
 Physical therapy - services to prevent or lessen movement’s difficulties and related functional
problems.

 Psychological services - administering and interpreting psychological tests and information

about a child’s behavior and child and family conditions related to learning, mental health and
development as well as planning services including counseling, consultation, parent training, and
education programs.

 Service coordination - someone who works in partnership with the family by providing
assistance and services that help the family to coordinate and obtain their rights under the Early
Intervention Program and services agreed upon in the IFSP.

 Social work services - preparing an assessment of the social and emotional strengths and
needs of a child and family, and providing individual or group services such as counseling or
family training.

 Special instruction - includes designing learning environments and activities that promote
the child’s development, providing families with information, skills, and support to enhance the
child’s development.

 Speech-language pathology - services for children with delay in communication skills or with
motor skills such as weakness of muscles around the mouth or swallowing.

 Vision services - identification of children with visual disorders or delays and providing
services and training to those children.
[5]

[edit] Providing Early Childhood Intervention

Robin McWilliam (2003, 2010[6]) developed a model that emphasizes five components: Understanding
the family ecology through eco-maps; functional needs assessment through a routines-based
interview; transdisciplinary service delivery through the use of a primary service provider; support-
based home visits through the parent consultation; and collaborative consultation to child care through
individualized intervention within routines.[7] "These services are to be provided in the child's natural
setting, preferably at a local level, with a family-oriented and multi-dimensional team approach".

Early childhood intervention may be provided within a centre-based program (such as Early Head
Start in the United States), a home-based program (such as Portage in Britain), or a mixed program
(such as Lifestart in Australia). Some programs are funded entirely by the government, while others
are charitable or fee-paying, or a combination of these.
An early childhood intervention team generally consists of teachers with special education
training, speech and language pathologists, Physical therapists (physiotherapists),occupational
therapists, and other support staff, such as music therapists, teacher aides/assistants, and counselors.
A key feature of early childhood intervention is the transdisciplinary model, in which staff members
discuss and work on goals even when they are outside their discipline: "In a transdisciplinary team the
roles are not fixed. Decisions are made by professionals collaborating at a primary level. The
boundaries between disciplines are deliberately blurred to employ a 'targeted eclectic flexibility'"
(Pagliano, 1999).

Goals are chosen by the families through the annual or biannual Individual Family Service
Plan (IFSP), which evolves from a meeting where families and staff members talk together about
current concerns, as well as celebrating achievements.

[edit] References
1. ^ www.dhs.state.il.us/page.aspx?item=32009
2. ^ http://www.brighttots.com/early_intervention.html
3. ^ Saunders, Edward J.; Health and Social Work, Vol. 20,
1995 http://www.questia.com/googleScholar.qst?docId=5000265362
4. ^ Bright Beginnings Developmental Therapy
5. ^ http://www.brighttots.com/early_intervention.html
6. ^ McWilliam, R. A. (2010). Routines-based early intervention. Baltimore: Brookes Publishing Co.
7. ^ McWilliam, R. A. (2003). "The primary-service-provider model for home- and community-based
services". Psicologia 17: 115–135.

 European Agency for Development in Special Needs. Early Childhood Intervention: Analysis

of Situations in Europe, 2005
 Guralnick, Michael. The Effectiveness of Early Intervention. Baltimore: P.H. Brookes, 1997
 Pagliano, P.J. Multisensory Environment. David Fulton Publishers, London, 1999.
 Spiker, D., Hebbeler, K., Wagner, M., Cameto, R., & McKenna, P. (2000). A framework for
describing variations in state early intervention systems. Topics in Early Childhood Special
Education, 20, 195-207.
 Wolfendale, Sheila. Meeting Special Needs in the Early Years: Directions in Policy and
Practice. London: David Fulton Publishers, 1997.

[edit] External links

 "Early Childhood Intervention project". European Agency for Development in Special Needs
Education. Retrieved 2006-06-15..
 Help for Babies (0 to 3) Early Intervention Information from NICHCY
 Early Childhood Intervention Association of Australia. Retrieved 2006-06-15.
 Lifestart Early Childhood Intervention, Australia. Retrieved 2006-06-15.
 Early Intervention Program for NYC . Retrieved 2008-06-16
 Early intervention and Special needs education in Sydney Australia Retrieved 2010-05-20
 Bright Tots
 New Jersey Early Intervention System
Categories: Child development