Office of Mental Health / Mental Retardation
Early Intervention for Parents
Welcome
Welcome to the Centre County Early Intervention Program!
Early Intervention works best when it is part of a family's daily routine and activities...occurring in the context of a family's every day life. Daily relationships and experiences provide children with rich learning opportunities; yet when a child has a developmental delay; it often impacts on how the child is able to learn from these everyday experiences.
For eligible children, early intervention supports families to identify new and existing activities that help their child's development and make these experiences successful. When families identify the routines and activities that their child enjoys or has difficulties with, early intervention has a natural context in which to work. We know this approach is the most effective way to promote your child's development.
Your Involvement is Important!
The opportunities your child has to play and learn with their family (sisters, brothers, grandparents, neighbors, etc.) are important to you child's growth and development. The role of the early intervention professional is to help you and your child meet the goals you have identified within the experiences your child has on a daily basis. The early intervention staff could never impact your child the way sisters, brothers, grandparents, neighbors and childcare teachers do. We only see your child a small portion of the 168 hours your child is awake, so it is important that we help you and the other people that care for your child learn what to do to help your child grow and develop.
This means...
You are an important part of the early intervention process. You will work with a service coordinator and other early intervention professionals to develop a plan that best meets the needs of you child and family. Your input will drive how services and supports are provided.
Early Intervention is for Children Birth to Age of Beginners
Early intervention services are provided to children with developmental delays or children at risk of developing a developmental delay. Services are provided to children from birth until they begin school if they continue to have developmental delays. Services are provided through the Centre County Early Intervention Program until you child turns 3. If you child continues to have a delay, your services will be provided through the Central Intermediate Unit's Preschool Program.
About
What is Early Intervention?
Early Intervention is the practice of identifying and addressing developmental delays, disabilities, and special needs of children and the needs of their family in early life. Our goal is to help you help your child to develop to his/her fullest potential.
Children eligible for early intervention services through the Centre County program are infants and toddlers who have an identified 25% developmental delay or disability in at least one of the following areas:
- Physical development including visions and hearing
- Cognitive development
- Sensory development
- Communication development
- Social-emotional development
- Adaptive development
Children can also be made eligible for the early intervention program by a determination by an Early Intervention professional that there is a delay even though it doesn't show up on the assessments (called informed clinical opinion) or known physical or mental conditions which have a high probability for developmental delays.
If your son or daughter is not eligible for early intervention, they may still be eligible for tracking services. Children eligible for that service are:
- under three and one half (31/2) pounds (birth weight);
- cared for in neonatal intensive care units;
- born to chemically dependent mothers;
- seriously abused or neglected;
- confirmed to have dangerous levels of lead poisoning.
Services are designed to meet the developmental needs of eligible children and their families by qualified professionals. Services provided to your child are based on the unique needs as noted in the results of a multidisciplinary evaluation and your priorities and concerns.
Where are Early Intervention Services Provided?
Early intervention services are provided in a child's natural environment. This means that the early intervention professionals can provide services to your child in your home, the childcare setting...even the neighborhood park and playground. Early intervention can go wherever you child spends time.
The Service Coordinator
What is a Service Coordinator?
You will begin working with a Service Coordinator as soon as your child is referred for early intervention services. A Service Coordinator is a person on the early intervention team that will work in collaboration with you to:
- seek services for your child and family;
- coordinate services with you and other professionals;
- facilitate team meetings;
- coordinate needed medical services, when needed; and
- make sure early intervention services are delivered to your satisfaction.
Your Service Coordinator has experience working with families of children with special needs. Your Service Coordinator has knowledge of families and of child development. Your Service Coordinator is also knowledgeable about the services which are available in your local area and how you can obtain them.
What should I expect from my Service Coordinator?
Your Service Coordinator will provide you with the information you need to make decisions about the supports and services your child will receive. They will assist you in choosing and obtaining these services. The Service Coordinator will help you decide on the goals/outcomes you want to work on and help you plan how to best meet those outcomes.
Your Service Coordinator can:
- Arrange for your child's evaluation and other assessments
- Help you organize and prepare for the evaluation meeting
- Help you organize and prepare for the Individualized Family Service Plan meeting when early intervention services and other supports are identified
- Inform you about the community and other specialized services available in the community
- Provide information about advocacy and other groups in the area that can assist you
- Connect you with other families
- Help you and your child prepare for preschool services when your child turns 3
Preparing for Your Child's Evaluation
If you are reading this, chances are you have some questions or concerns about your baby or young child's development. You may want to understand more about how your child learns best. You may be puzzled about your baby's behavior. You, a relative, your doctor or childcare provider, or someone else who knows young children well may have noticed that your child seems to be developing differently from other children his or her age. To help answer your questions, you have contacted the early intervention program.
All children enrolling with the early intervention program will receive a developmental evaluation. This evaluation is a process in which you, as parents/ caregivers, can observe your child carefully and discuss your child with professionals who are experienced in working with very young children and their families. What you learn from the evaluation process should answer many of your questions. The evaluation process should give you ideas about things you can do at home to help your child learn and grow. If your child is eligible for early intervention services, a team will discuss any special services your child may need and how to choose learning environments to meet the needs of your child.
We believe that when parents and professionals work together as a team, everyone will get a better understanding of how a baby or young child responds to the world, what s/he can already do, and how s/he learns best.
Preparing Your Child for the Evaluation
- Share information with the evaluation team about what your child likes and dislikes.
- Share information with the evaluation team about the concerns you have about your child's development.
- Talk about what goes well on a typical day and what is difficult or challenging.
- Have your child's favorite toys available.
- Try to have your child fed and rested so they can do their best.
- Consider how you can participate as a member of the evaluation team.
The Evaluation Team
The Evaluation Team Determines Eligibility
At the end of the evaluation process, you and the evaluation team will determine if your child is eligible for early intervention services.
If your child is not eligible for early intervention services:
Congratulations! Your child is developing as they should. If you continue to have concerns, the team will provide you with ideas that you can use at home to strengthen your child's development. They can help you by identifying other resources that you may be interested in accessing. In addition they will give you information about contacting the early intervention program if your child's development changes and you are again concerned.
if your child is eligible for early intervention services
The Service Coordinator will ask if you want to continue the meeting to finalize a plan for services. This meeting is called an IFSP or Individual Family Service Plan meeting. At this meeting, you and the evaluation team will identify the early intervention and other services available to you and your family.
An individualized family service plan (ifsp) meeting is held
You and the team will be asked to identify outcomes that you want your child and family to work on in the next 6 months. Outcomes clarify the changes you want to see for your child and/or family. An outcome can focus on an area of child development or family life. It can focus on a daily routine that's difficult or one that will help your child learn a new skill or activity.
Examples may include:
- I want Katie to move around so she can get to the toys she wants to play with.
- We want Billy to use words so we know what he wants and needs.
- We want to be able to take Keisha to the store without her crying and screaming so we can go shopping as a family.
- We want Alexis to feed herself so she doesn't need extra assistance at the childcare center.
- Joanne will learn to climb steps so she can use the sliding board at the park.
- We want Christian to learn to play with toys more independently so he can learn more and I can get more done around the house.
- We want to connect with other parents so we can learn from their experiences.
Identifying specific early intervention and community services
When the outcomes are determined, you and the evaluation/IFSP team will decide what early intervention and other community resources that are appropriate. You may want to identify family resources that can help us as well.
Finalizing the ifsp
Early intervention and other services will be listed on the IFSP. The IFSP will also include how often early intervention services will occur and for how long. At this point, the Service Coordinator will work with you to identify and locate a qualified agency to provide services. A section in this intake packet lists the providers of early intervention services available to Centre County families.
All this information is written down in the plan. You will get a copy of your child's plan soon after the meeting.
AND THEN, SERVICES BEGIN!
Service providers or your Service Coordinator will contact you to schedule first meeting time.
The Early Intervention Therapist
How Will An Early Intervention Therapist Help Your Child Learn?
Early intervention works best when a child gets many opportunities to practice newly developing skills. To that end, the services and supports provided to children and their families and/or caregivers are designed using a variety of different early intervention models. Decisions about which model to choose is based on the kind of support your child needs to learn. Most often the services provided to you and your child are a combination of methods including but not limited to:
- Modeling - demonstrating how to do certain activities with a child's family and/or the child's caregiver. For example, the therapist may demonstrate how to encourage your child to close their lips around a spoon during meal times or how to play with toys to encourage their interaction and communication.
- Direct Instruction - teaching a child's family or caregiver how to practice certain skills. For example, the therapist may teach a family how to perform exercises to help their child from losing range of motion in tight muscles or how to help their child get on a swing at the local playground.
- Consultation and Collaboration - providing ideas and resources, encouragement, and support to assist a child's family and/or caregiver to problem solve ways to help the child achieve the goals identified by the family. For example, if a child is not able to sit quietly at circle time at a child care center, the team members may suggest adaptations the teacher can easily make to help the child succeed and ways that fit easily into that environment. For a child who is having problems sleeping at night, team members may suggest a change in the bedtime routine to incorporate activities that have a calming effect.
How will my child's early intervention services be paid?
State and Federal law requires that early intervention services be provided to eligible children at no cost to families.
How is Centre County's early intervention services funded?
Early intervention services are funded in a variety of ways.
- Pennsylvania Department of Public Welfare/ Office of Child Development receive money from the federal and state government, including Medical Assistance, the Infant, Toddlers and Family Early Intervention Waiver, and state tax dollars…
- The Centre County Mental Health/ Mental Retardation Office receive money from the Department of Public Welfare/ Office of Child Development and provide some local matching dollars...
- Your child's early intervention provider submits a bill to the Centre County MH/MR Office or to Medical Assistance or to your private insurance for the early intervention services they provide.Note: Bills are submitted to your private insurance only with your approval.
How will I know what dollars are being used to pay for my child's early intervention services?
Your child's IFSP (Individual Family Service Plan) will list how each service is funded.
Must I use my private insurance?
You can give permission for your private insurance to be billed; however you are under no obligation.
Must I enroll in Medical Assistance?
Parents may choose to apply for Pennsylvania's Medical Assistance program. Qualifications for MA are based on you child's degree of delay or disability and the income of your child, NOT ON YOUR INCOME. Please keep in mind that your child may not automatically be approved. If you enroll in MA, the early intervention system can bill medical assistance for early intervention services, including service coordination and possible other therapies' depending on any other types of insurance your child is covered under.
Is the type of services my child receives dependent on the source of funding?
No, services are based on the unique needs of the child and family and are available regardless of how the services are funded.
Infant, Toddlers and Family (ITF) Early Intervention Waiver Program
The ITF waiver program is another funding stream for early intervention services. This funding source covers children who have medical assistance and have a 50% delay in one area of development or show 33% delays in two or more areas of development.
Parent permission is required to access waiver funding. There are no changes or differenced in the services your child would receive based on whether or not you chose the waiver.
Transition for You and Your Child
Transitions occur in our lives all the time in many different ways. Changes in our jobs or homes are examples. While receiving early intervention services, you and your child may experience transitions as well.
Planning for a transition allows for a smooth transfer from one service to another.
Transition in early intervention services means movement from on program to another, such as:
- from the hospital to you home;
- from an infant or toddler with home early intervention service to a preschool program;
- from a toddler playgroup to a preschool program; or
- from preschool program to kindergarten or first grade.
Because you know your child best, you can be his or her best advocate. Decisions regarding your child's services and family supports should not be made without you. Planning meetings will take place in the year prior to your child's third birthday to discuss options and the transition process.
Planning a successful transition
As a very important part of the team, you need to know all the options – ask questions.
- What is needed for my child?
- What is available?
- Who is involved?
- Where are they?
- When is this transition going to occur?
- Will a program change be necessary?
- How will the transition occur?
A written plan is included in the IFSP.
When your child turns three years of age, responsibility for funding early intervention services changes from the Pennsylvania Department of Public Welfare to the Pennsylvania Department of Education. This transition on the third birthday may involve only a change in who pays for your child's services and not necessarily a child in program, services, or placement.
No change should be made to the IFSP without you consent and involvement of the sending and receiving agencies. These decisions are part of the team process.
Source: A Family's Introduction to Early Intervention in Pennsylvania
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