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Why We Provide Early Intervention Training In Your Own Home
There’s nothing more exciting than seeing your baby’s first milestones. Watching them be more aware of their movements, how their eyes follow you or wander about the things around them, how they explore their surroundings, how they express themselves with sounds and actions, and so much more, will just bring any parent so much joy, confidence, and a feeling of being at ease. Seeing them grow and develop will never fail to make you feel proud.
The first five years in your baby’s life are truly the most crucial. Though not every child grows the same, perhaps some parents may notice that there is quite a delay in their baby’s growth and development. When you worry about such things, what you can do is connect with experts and specialists in Early Intervention (EI).
But what is Early Intervention? How can it help your child’s growth and development? How do you determine if it’s the right time to do it and who do you refer to for Early Intervention?
Early intervention (EI) is a network of services and supports put in place for an individual child with an identified developmental delay (DD)/special need or who may be considered “at-risk” for developing a delay. The primary focus of early intervention is family education, training, and support.
Early intervention programs are designed to enable parents and other caregivers to incorporate educational and therapeutic strategies into daily routines and utilize available community resources based on their child’s individual developmental strengths and needs. It gives the family the support needed to make their child progress in life skills.
Early Intervention focuses on skills in these five areas:
- Cognitive – problem solving, critical thinking, sorting
- Social-Emotional – expressing emotions, interacting with others
- Physical/Motor – crawling, walking, grasping, drawing, manipulating toys
- Communication – speaking, using gestures, listening, understanding words and directions
- Self-help/Adaptive – dressing, toileting, eating, sleeping, participation in daily activities
Early intervention is usually for children ages birth to age 3. And to be eligible, your child must have either: A developmental delay, or a specific health condition that will probably lead to a developmental delay. This includes things like certain genetic disorders, birth defects, or hearing loss.
Each state has its own rules for which children are eligible. Although all states offer early intervention, not all states do it the same way. States define developmental delays in different ways and provide services for different health conditions. Here in South Carolina, children that qualify with significant developmental delays may continue with EI services until their 6th birthday through the Department of Disabilities and Special Needs (DDSN).
One of the best ways to go about it is to consult with a trusted expert on Early Intervention. About Play provides a quality Early Intervention program that nurtures families in meeting their child’s developmental needs. About Play believes a lifetime of learning begins with a child’s experiences of play. The About Play EI works with the family through play and everyday routines. They have Family Training visits that promote the child to reach his developmental milestones.
About Play provides Family Training and Service Coordination in the following 28 counties in South Carolina: York, Chester, Lancaster, Fairfield, Richland, Lexington, Newberry, Greenwood, Laurens, Greenville, Pickens, Spartanburg, Union, Cherokee, Kershaw, Chesterfield, Sumter, Lee, Darlington, Florence, Marion, Dillon, Clarendon, Williamsburg, Horry, Dorchester, Berkeley, and Charleston.
Get to know more about About Play’s Early Intervention program. For more info, visit our REFERRALS page on our website: Referral Process
If you live in South Carolina and think your infant or child is experiencing developmental delays, we can help.
where do we offer early intervention services?
