What to look for in early intervention supports

Early intervention can help children develop essential everyday skills.

Sometimes, children who get early intervention might not need long-term support.

Providing quality early intervention for a child with developmental delay or disability in their early years is critical to achieving the best outcomes. Effective early childhood intervention should be tailored to your child and family’s needs and include evidence-based strategies and supports.

If you are seeking early intervention support for your child you may want to consider the following questions:

• Does the support have a family-centred approach? Supports should actively involve and engage parents and other family members and be tailored to the family’s circumstances and priorities

• Is the support child-focused? Supports should be suggested and delivered based on the individual child’s needs and goals, and aim to develop specific skills

• Is it structured and supportive? Supports should be delivered in an environment where the child and family feel comfortable and be highly structured, well-organised, consistent and predictable, but flexible to adapt to a child’s learning needs on a given day

• Is there a measurable quality of therapy? Supports and services should be based on solid evidence and research, and delivered by practitioners with appropriate qualifications and experience

• Will there be regular assessments? Supports should be regularly reviewed and progress regularly assessed against the child’s goals and milestones

• Does it build knowledge and skills? Support and information provided should build the knowledge, skills and confidence of the family and important people in the child’s life

If you have concerns about your child’s behaviour or development, call the NDIS hotline on 1800 800 110 and request access to ECEI support.

What else do you look for in early intervention support and therapy? Let the team at Disability Support Guide know on social media!

Related content:

• Early intervention under the NDIS
• Preparing for your ECEI meeting