Babies and young children are constantly growing and changing and sometimes it can be tough to keep up with every major milestone they have. However, as a caregiver, it’s important to be on the lookout for any possible need for early intervention for a child.
What is Early Intervention?
Early intervention is service and support available to the families of babies and young children with developmental delays and disabilities. Every US state has an early intervention program that helps families get the help their child needs, including evaluations to determine whether or not a child needs early intervention.
Why is Early Intervention Important?
Early intervention helps children improve their abilities and learn new skills. So much of childhood development is about building new skills on top of established ones. When a child is experiencing a delay of development, they could experience a domino effect in the delay of other skills later. Besides this being a challenge in and of itself, it can also make social interaction difficult if children of similar ages are in very different stages of development.
What Types of Early Intervention Are There?
Children who have been diagnosed with disabilities may qualify for the following early intervention
services:
Physical Therapy
Helps children develop and coordinate muscle movements to enhance
strength and mobility.
Occupational Therapy
Helps individuals with a variety of self-help and play skills that often
require fine motor skill improvement. Occupational therapists also work with children with
sensory processing disorders adapt to their environments.
Medical or Nursing Services
Assistance with feeding, administering medicine, or meeting
other medical needs.
Speech and Language Therapy
Helps children with all areas of communication, including the
use of tools that support communication for children who are nonverbal.
Psychological or Behavioral Therapy
Helps children with social and emotional challenges in
the classroom environment, including problem-solving, self-regulation, and task management.
