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Early intervention applies to children of school age or younger who are discovered to have or be at risk of developing a handicapping condition or other special need that may affect their development. Early intervention consists in the provision of services such children and their families for the purpose of lessening the effects of the condition. Early intervention can be remedial or preventive in nature–remediating existing developmental problems or preventing their occurrence.
Early intervention may focus on the child alone or on the child and the family together. Early intervention programs may be center-based, home-based, hospital-based, or a combination. Services range from identification–that is, hospital or school screening and referral services–to diagnostic and direct intervention programs. Early intervention may begin at any time between birth and school age; however, there are many reasons for it to begin as early as possible.
http://www.kidsource.com/kidsource/content/early.intervention.html
The Early Childhood Education Division develops and provides materials and support for the Early Learning Standards and their use in early childhood programs, and for programs that focus on children from birth to eight years old, early intervention for at-risk students, pre-Kindergarten programs, early literacy, and partnerships among schools, communities and service providers.
http://www.isbe.state.il.us/earlychi/default.htm
Key findings:
- A substantial percentage of children are disadvantaged in terms of resources available for healthy physical and mental development. One-fifth of children under age 6 live in poverty, and nearly half of all children face one or more risk factors associated with gaps in school readiness.
- These disadvantages translate into shortfalls in academic achievement, prosocial behavior, educational attainment, and, eventually, greater rates of unemployment and criminality.
http://www.rand.org/pubs/research_briefs/RB9144/index1.html
The term developmentally appropriate care is commonly used by child care professionals to describe care that takes into account the level of physical, social, emotional, and intellectual development of a child.
While there is no one right way to care for children, there are guidelines that focus on how a child develops and the care that is appropriate at various stages. These guidelines help both child care providers and parents understand ways to care for children while helping them develop positive self-esteem.
The following guidelines have been developed by early childhood and child care professionals. These guidelines focus on the idea of developmental appropriateness which is defined in two parts: age appropriateness or the universal, predictable sequences of growth and change that occur in children as they go through their early years of life; and individual appropriateness or the unique growth sequence of each child with their own pattern and timing, as well as individual personality, learning style, and family background experiences.
http://www.extension.umn.edu/distribution/familydevelopment/components/7268m.html
