Definition – What is early intervention?
Early intervention is a collective term for various pedagogical and therapeutic measures to support physically or mentally handicapped children or children who are developing very slowly. Early intervention supports children from birth to school age and is intended to help prevent developmental disorders and alleviate possible consequences of disabilities. This includes, for example, language support, vision school and physiotherapy.
Who should receive early intervention?
Any child that is slowed down or noticeable in its development can receive early intervention. As a rule, the pediatrician is the first point of contact. If early intervention is started early enough, it is often possible to alleviate or even eliminate the possible consequences of the children.
This is due to the fact that in the early childhood phases of development, many things can still be influenced. If a child is threatened with a disability, this enables us to positively influence the disability, prevent possible consequences or even prevent an imminent disability. Indications that early intervention is necessary: a child cannot hear properly a child cannot see properly a child does not learn to speak properly a child is lagging behind in mental development a child has physical infirmities or a child behaves in a very conspicuous psychological way An early intervention should be given to children who are cognitively, physically or mentally impaired in their development.
- A child cannot hear properly
- A child cannot see properly
- A child does not learn to speak properly
- A child is left behind in the mental development
- A child has physical disabilities or
- A child behaves psychologically very conspicuous
When is early intervention useful?
Early intervention is useful if a child has cognitive, physical or psychological impairments. Early intervention is useful if the child has an existing disability. At the same time, early intervention is also worthwhile for children who are still threatened by a disability.
With the right support, these children can be helped under certain circumstances so that the disability does not develop or at least not as strongly. This means that early intervention can help to alleviate and prevent the most diverse impairments of a child. Early intervention can help to “help” an impaired child in its development as much as possible. This topic could also be interesting for you: Behavioral disorders in children
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