Early Help Makes a Difference Young children learn and develop differently. One baby may walk earlier than another, while another baby might talk first. Often, these differences will even out. But, some children will need extra help. Look for signs in your infant or toddler. They might need some extra help. Early help makes a difference! If your child does have a problem, the earlier you get help, the better.
Where Can Parents Get Help ?
Call our Early Intervention Center. We will let you know about the procedure and your child’s developmental evaluation will be done. Then, together, we will make a plan to get help for your child.
What is Early Intervention Center (EIC) ?
Within the variety of services and support for children, there are specialized programs that focus on infants and children who have developmental delay or who risk delayed development for established, biological and/or psychosocial reasons. Early Intervention Center (EIC) provides a range of prevention and early intervention services and support for such infants. Most of the programs serve children from birth to age three, while for some cases we serve children up to the age of five. The staff administer programs that have evolved in different directions to meet the needs of each child
Who are the children served in EIC ?
Any child from birth through the age of two years with a developmental delay, disability or condition which affects development may need early help. Early Intervention Center is designed to serve infants who run the risk of developmental delay. These infants can fall within one or more of the following risk factor categories:
Established risk – Infants who have been diagnosed with medical disorders. An established range of developmental handicaps may be associated with these disorders, which include: genetic and chromosomal syndromes; neurological disorders and congenital malformations of the nervous system.
Biological risk – Infants who have a history of prenatal, perinatal, neonatal and/or early developmental events, which may have affected the central nervous system and resulted in developmental difficulties for the child. Biological complications may include: birth asphyxia or trauma; prematurity; physically handicapped conditions; increased genetic risk of disability; apparent global developmental delays.
Psychosocial risk – Infants who have a statistically increased probability of delayed development because of individual susceptibilities which are aggravated by environments in which there may be inadequate response to the infant’s physical, developmental and/or social-emotional needs. Parental inexperience/developmental delays/or mental health problems, attachment difficulties, non-organic failure to thrive and child neglect or abuse are commonly presenting issues. Referrals are made by parents, physicians and community workers.
What should I do if I think my child has special needs ?
First, you’ll need to find out if your infant or toddler requires early intervention services. There are many professionals in our organization that can help you with this. We will explain how to get the help you need if you visit our center.
What do EIC do ?
EIC provides an integrated approach to infant development and family-centered intervention that is parent-led and responsive to parent strengths, competencies and priorities. The family is the major decision-maker in a child’s life, and its active involvement throughout intervention is essential to a satisfactory and meaningful outcome. Through a trans-disciplinary approach and in collaboration with other service providers, we aim to provide the highest level of opportunity for the optimal development of the child. Support is provided within the child’s natural environment where the infant development specialist serves many functions.