Early intervention is a program that offers services to help children who have developmental challenges. It is for toddlers who delay achieving certain milestones compared to other children of the same age. Early intervention services help children from birth up to the age of 3. These services can help your child overcome most of the developmental issues they may have.
If you notice that your child is experiencing problems or taking longer than expected to learn specific skills, it is advisable to seek help from experts. The experts will have to examine the child to determine what services will help the child overcome the growth development challenges. They will also determine if the child will get the services at home or from an Early Intervention Program Centre. As such they will recommend to you the steps you are supposed to take so as to help your child.
When you notice that your child is not keeping the same pace of development as others of the same age, the first thing you do is to talk to your pediatrician. The expert will listen and evaluate your concerns from what you have observed. You can also contact an Early Intervention Centre and ask them to evaluate your child. Based on what they observe during the evaluation, your child may be eligible for the Early Intervention Program.
During the development assessment, the experts want to know whether the child has developmental delays or a specific health condition that leads to the delay. Some of the main issues that the Early Intervention Programs deal with include but are not limited to the following:
A child who has developmental, physical issues will not be able to reach out to items when you expect them to be able to do that. They may also delay crawling or may not be able to crawl at all. You may also notice that the child cannot walk when they should walk, or even if they walk, they may do so with difficulties. Also, a development issue may make a child not have a strong body build.
A child with cognitive skills problems will have difficulties thinking and solving problems or may be slow in learning.
Developmental problems may create listening problems in a child or difficulties understanding others. At the same time, a child may not talk or have other communication problems.
There is a certain age where children should dress themselves or feed themselves. If a child takes longer to do those things for themselves, you should seek help from an expert. The expert will evaluate the child and let you know whether the child is still within the time limit of learning those things.
Here are some of the major reasons why finding the best pre-school and the concept of early intervention just makes sense.
The Early intervention caregivers or specialists help the child learn and develop the skills through providing opportunities to play. During the intervention process, the child develops the skills for communication and socialization. They also learn problem-solving and self-control skills.
Early Intervention Programs are effective in helping children develop learning skills who would otherwise need to attend specialized schooling.
Early Intervention experts can provide the services at home to meet your family in a natural environment for the child. The child will be more comfortable in familiar environments, and it becomes easy to incorporate the Early Intervention activities into the child’s daily routine.
Working with the family will make learning much more manageable and help them reach their potential faster. As a parent, you are the primary teacher of your child, and the Early Intervention services will empower you to have all the tools you need to help the child develop as they should.
If you notice anything wrong with your child, the best thing is to seek help from experts. Providing the help the child needs early helps the child to overcome most of the challenges.
