Who are early interventions for?

Who are early interventions for?

Developmental delays (DD) represent a group of conditions that occur when a child’s progression through predictable developmental phases slows, stops, or reverses. According to global research, there is a high prevalence of developmental difficulties in early childhood across the world, especially in low and middle-income countries. Symptoms of DD most often include a delay (i.e. slower than-normal) motor, development cognitive, social, of and emotional skills. When a child presents with these types of difficulties, society needs to provide them with integrated multisectoral services, also known as early interventions (EI). The decades of research and clinical experience show that the first years of a person’s life are crucial for further development and life overall. This is mainly due to the fact that brain development is the most pronounced in early childhood. Early interventions provided in the first years of life can help vulnerable children and lead them toward fulfilling their primary potential. This is why early interventions need to be available, accessible, affordable, and adequate for every child in need. It is also equally important that existing systems and services recognize the needs of each child and provide all the support needed for optimal development.

Early interventions concept

 As a broad concept, EI can be defined as an integrated set of measures and services delivered by multidisciplinary EI teams. The EI programs primarely aim to provide support for children with developmental delays, disabilities, atypical behavior, and social and emotional difficulties. Apart from providing direct support to the children, the EIs also help their families by strengthening the family, providing the needed services, access to appropriate healthcare and education, etc. Secondarily, the EIs are also delivered for children and families with a high probability of malnutrition, chronic illness, or other psychological and physical problems before school enrolment. The initial EI concept was developed and delivered to children aged 0-3 years. Now, the EIs are all interventions delivered prior to going to school (age 0-6). The EI can be also described as a social model that always contains pedagogical, medical-therapeutic, and social elements. It includes the main areas of social development such as education, health, nutrition, sanitation system, and social protection and care. This is the main difference that distinguishes EIs from traditional medical and rehabilitation services, which are mainly or exclusively focused on the main difficulties in child development. Instead, EIs are aimed at the comprehensive development of the child and families, with special emphasis on areas of greatest need. In addition, EIs also focus on child’s individual strengths and work to empower them as much as possible, which is an entirely new concept compared to traditional interventions.