What is Early Intervention (EI)?
Early intervention is the service offered to individuals from birth to three years old (0 to 36 months) who are diagnosed with developmental delays and/or disabilities or are considered at risk to. This may include individuals who may not be walking or talking when it would be expected for their age.
Early intervention (EI) focuses on decreasing the effects of a delay or disability so children and families have tools to increase success as they grow and participate in their daily living activities.
What is Early Intervention (EI)?
EI is a proactive approach designed to identify and address developmental delays in children from birth through three years of age. This may include individuals who may not be walking or talking when it would be expected for their age.
Speech therapy is one of several common early intervention services offered.
The philosophy behind early intervention is rooted in the understanding that the first few years of a child's life are crucial for their overall development. Early intervention focuses on decreasing the effects of a delay or disability so children and families have tools to increase success as they grow and participate in their daily living activities.
In addition to speech therapy, early intervention can involve specialists from fields like occupational therapy, physical therapy, or special education. By intervening early, these specialists provide an opportunity to enhance the child's developmental outcomes and mitigate potential long-term difficulties.
Research shows that early intervention lessens the negative effects of a child’s developmental delay and/or disability and improves learning outcomes for that child. This may help them do better in school, establish meaningful relationships with others, and maintain healthy routines (e.g., increasing independence for daily tasks, like dressing themselves).
Research shows that early intervention lessens the negative effects of a child’s developmental delay and/or disability and improves learning outcomes for that child.
The Early Intervention Model
An Early intervention program should address 5 areas of development:
- Cognitive development: thinking, reasoning, problem solving
- Physical development: hearing, vision, and motor skills
- Communication development: understanding and use of speech and language)
- Social-emotional development: regulating emotions
- Adaptive development: eating and dressing/self care
Depending on the needs of the child and their family family, emphasis may be placed on one area of development more than another. For example, let’s consider a two-year-old child who is not yet walking but has a robust vocabulary and is eager to talk. Parents of this child may express more concern about getting early intervention services for a delay/disorder regarding the child's physical development and focus less on communication development.
Services Included in Early Intervention
Depending on the identified developmental areas of need, early intervention services can include:
- Speech-language therapy
- Occupational therapy
- Physical therapy
- Audiology (hearing) services
- Psychological services
- Behavioral services
- Nutrition services
- Social work services
Why is Early Intervention Important?
Research shows that early intervention lessens the negative effects of a child’s developmental delay and/or disability and improves learning outcomes for that child. The first three years of a child’s life are pivotal for building neural connections and foundational skills that will develop over the course of their lifespan. This may help them do better in school, establish meaningful relationships with others, and maintain healthy routines, like exercising.
Early intervention services are designed so they are individualized for each child and family. Family is so often included because parent/caregiver participation is crucial to a child’s success in early intervention.
How Do I Know If My Child Needs Early Intervention?
Developmental milestones are tools that parents and caregivers can use to identify their child’s developmental growth or cause for concern. Within each developmental area in the early intervention model, there are general milestones (aka - a list of skills children usually have at a certain age). This may include when a child is expected to be able to walk, dress themselves, or follow simple directions. Pediatric clinical professionals, such as the child’s pediatrician, are trained to identify these milestones and address them (as needed) during doctor appointments. They can refer a child to services; however, a doctor’s referral is not necessary for a caregiver to contact their state or territory’s early intervention program. A state’s program will be able to provide the necessary information needed to determine if the child is eligible for services and the steps moving forward.
Find more information about early intervention services in each state and U.S. territory.
Where My Child Receive Early Intervention?
Most early intervention services take place in the home or wherever the child’s natural environment is. Sometimes, early intervention is held within the child’s daycare program, pediatric clinic, or other child-focused center.
What Is Early Intervention Speech Therapy Like?
Speech therapy services in early intervention may vary depending on the child, their needs, and the family's goals. The purpose of speech therapy is to improve communication skills. A speech-language pathologist (SLP) will complete an evaluation and develop treatment goals. Following that, they will begin providing treatment services. Often, EI speech therapy sessions are play-based, incorporate caregiver coaching, and focus on building communication skills through everyday routines and activities.
Where Can I Find Additional Resources?
Find more information on speech and language milestones, early communication skills, strategies for helping young children talk, and no-prep resources for clinicians.
- Speech and Language Milestones: Birth to 5
- 8 Ways to Help Your Toddler Talk
- Early Communication Skills in Young Children
- Our Favorite Books for Speech and Language Development
- No Prep Resources:
- Inside our Premium Community, we have no prep resources that can be printed out or used digitally. These include goal creator resources, speech and language handouts, case history and ethnographic interview forms, and so much more. We know that prep time is limited; save time without sacrificing quality when you use our extensive resource library.
References/further resources:
American Speech-Language-Hearing Association. (n.d.). Early intervention. ASHA. https://www.asha.org/practice-portal/professional-issues/early-intervention/
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2022, September 15). Learn the signs. Act early: State and territory programs. CDC. https://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/actearly/parents/states.html
Center for Parent Information and Resources. (2023, July 1). Overview of early intervention. CPIR. https://www.parentcenterhub.org/ei-overview
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