Transcript Document

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EARLY CHILDHOOD
INTERVENTION
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What is early childhood intervention
(ECI)?
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ECI is the process of providing specialised support and services for
infants and young children who have developmental delays or
disabilities, their families and communities, in order to promote
development, well-being and community participation.
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ECI supports children in their early years (birth-8 years of age) to
promote their growth and development and provides support to their
families during the critical early years.
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ECI inclusive practices involve “providing children with experiences and
opportunities that promote their acquisition and use of competencies
that enable them to participate meaningfully with others and with their
environment”.
Moore, T. (2012) Rethinking Early Childhood Intervention Services: Implications for policy and practice
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Why is early childhood intervention
important?
There are many young children with disabilities in Australia.
3.6% (almost 1 in 25) of our children from birth to 5 years are
reported to have additional needs (ABS, 2012).
The United Nation’s Convention on the Rights of the Child
(1989), advocates for all children’s right to assistance to become
fully participating members of their community.
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Early childhood is a time of remarkable brain development.
Learning and development is most rapid during the early
childhood years. These years lay the foundation for subsequent
learning. Quality early education enhances children’s
developmental, social and educational gains.
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Quality ECI can have a significant
socio-economic returns to the
community. It can reduce the costs
in the future of specialised
education, remediation and health
care and reap long-term benefits
for society.
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ECI can promote children’s
acquisition of skills and
competencies to enable them to
participate meaningfully in their
environment.
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ECI promotes access and
participation of children with
disability into mainstream
environments.
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ECI can reduce the stress and
isolation that families may
experience and improve family
wellbeing.
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The importance of early childhood years
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Research shows that the early years are important for a child’s
ability to learn, create trust, and develop relationships and a
strong sense of themselves.
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Research in neurobiology highlights the importance of the
early years in shaping the structure of the brain.
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Many of the brain’s neural connections are established during
the early years of life. Learning and development are most
rapid during this time. These years lay the foundation for
subsequent learning.
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Recent scientific evidence shows that early experiences and
positive interactions shape children’s lives and impact on the
kind of adults they will become.
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Starting early
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It is critical to identify children with disabilities/developmental
delays as early as possible to ensure the child receives appropriate
support that could prevent further delay.
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The earlier intervention begins, the greater the benefits for the child
and the family.
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Early experiences impact on the development of the brain and
influence the specific way in which the pathways of the brain
become "wired."
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Support to families as early as possible can facilitate positive parentchild attachment and promote inclusion in everyday activities.
Research has shown that strong attachments are associated with
high self-esteem, willingness to take risks and ability to learn.
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Families of children with disabilities
and developmental delays
Major social and demographic changes over the last few decades
have made raising children more complex. Social and economic
pressures on families, changing work patterns and demands, and
changes in family structure have all contributed to this.
Moore, T. (2010) An integrated approach to early childhood development
Having a child with a disability/developmental delay may place
significant stress on families.
The impact of disability/developmental delay, the way families and
individuals within families respond to it, will vary widely.
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The early years are critical for families,
especially families of young children
with disabilities/developmental delays
Early childhood intervention services work alongside families to:
 build on family strengths and develop new skills
 focus on the family’s priorities and circumstances
 build on family knowledge in supporting and nurturing their child
 optimise their child's development and ability to participate in family
and community life
 develop family resilience and well-being.
Family-centred early childhood intervention services
understand that parents/caregivers are the most
important part of the early childhood intervention
process and acknowledge them as the most powerful
influence on their child’s life and development.
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ECI services partner with
families and others involved
with the child and the family,
to develop an Individual
Family Service Plan (IFSP)
and an Individual
Education Plan (IEP)
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Individual Family Service Plan
(IFSP)
An IFSP is a process that ensures families’ priorities for their
children are valued and respected. IFSPs are developed out of
the process of collaboration and partnerships between families
and professionals.
An IFSP may include:
 identification of family concerns, priorities and resources
 assessment planning
 development of outcomes – long and short-term – to
meet child and family needs
 a process of implementation of strategies
 a process of evaluation of these strategies.
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Individual Education Plan
(IEP)
An IEP is an individualised plan which is developed for each child. The
content of the IEP is informed by the outcomes identified in the IFSP.
An IEP may contain:
 information about the child’s disability/developmental delay
 a summary of the child’s strengths and needs
 information from assessments and reports
 roles and responsibilities of the child’s team members
 outcomes and goals
 teaching strategies
 observations and ongoing evaluation.
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Early childhood intervention services
aim to:
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partner with parents/caregivers by providing the knowledge, support,
resources and information tailored to:
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meet the needs of their child and the family as a whole
optimise their child's development and ability to participate in family and
community life
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build the capacity of families to maximise everyday activities to support
their child's development
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assist families to develop the skills needed to facilitate their child’s
meaningful engagement within their community
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facilitate well-integrated and cohesive supports and information to
families
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support families to become lifelong advocates for their child.
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Service implementation
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Services focus on supporting the
child in their natural environments
and in their everyday experiences
and activities.
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Services may be delivered in a
variety of ways including:
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home-based programmes
support into early childhood
education and care settings and
community activities
individual consultation sessions with
educators or therapists
group programmes.
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Early childhood intervention services
may provide:
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information and support that addresses the individual needs of the child and family
play-based education and therapy programmes based on the IFSP and IEP
standardised and play-based assessments for children
transition support for children and their families to the next educational setting
facilitated family support groups
linking families to services and providing access and co-ordination of services
collaboration with local early childhood education and care services, other child and
family services and the broader community to improve access and participation of
children with disabilities / developmental delays
education, training and workshops for:
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families
local early childhood education and care services
other child and family services
the broader community
culturally responsive and inclusive programmes to facilitate access to services.
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Early childhood intervention services
can be delivered by:
Government, non-government and private providers that
may consist of:
educators
 speech pathologists
 occupational therapists
 physiotherapists
 family support workers
 psychologists
 social workers
 other professionals.
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Others who play an important role in
early childhood intervention include:
early childhood services including, but not limited to,
preschools, family day care, long day care centres, mobile
services, playgroups and other community activities young
children participate in e.g. swimming pools, libraries, etc.
 medical and allied health specialists
 vision and hearing specialists
 respite care services
 parent community support groups
 advocacy groups
 Itinerant Support Teachers
 Schools as Community Hubs
 early childhood and early childhood intervention professional
bodies.
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Early childhood intervention
professionals may use the following
approaches:
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transdisciplinary - where professionals and parent/caregivers
collaborate to work as a team, learning from each other. A key
worker supports the family and child and consults with other
professionals as expert advice is needed
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interdisciplinary - where professionals and parent/caregivers
collaborate and work together as a team
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multidisciplinary - with different professionals working with
the child independently of one another.
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Research shows that well-designed
early childhood interventions:
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significantly improve the development and functioning of
children with disabilities/developmental delays
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make a substantial difference to family wellbeing
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reduce both the child and the family’s dependence on costly
specialised services in later life.
“Depending on the programme, early intervention can return between
two to ten dollars for every dollar invested.”
KPMG (2011) Reviewing the Evidence of the Effectiveness of Early Childhood Intervention
Considering the research
and evidence, early
childhood intervention
services benefit the
whole community and
deserve
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The best outcomes for children with
disabilities/developmental delays are
achieved when everyone is involved.
This may include:
 extended family
 friends
and neighbours
 service providers
 the whole community.
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The community can participate by:
 including children
with disabilities/developmental delays
in community activities
 including children
with disabilities/developmental delays
in early childhood education and care services
 supporting
services.
the work of early childhood intervention
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For further information
Parent Line is a telephone service for parents and carers of children
from birth to eighteen years of age in New South Wales.
Parent Line provides information on early childhood intervention
services available throughout NSW, to support young children with a
disability or delay and their families.
For help across NSW contact
This presentation has been compiled by
Early Childhood Intervention Australia
(NSW Chapter’s) Education and Training
Sub-Committee 2013
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Early Childhood Intervention Australia
(NSW Chapter) is the peak organisation
in NSW for professionals who support
young children with additional needs and
their families.
ECIA NSW is committed to the principles
of quality early childhood intervention.
www.ecia-nsw.org.au
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© 2014 by Early Childhood Intervention Australia (NSW Chapter) Inc.
All rights reserved. No part of this document may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical,
photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without prior written permission of Early Childhood Intervention Australia (NSW Chapter) Inc.