Early Intervention

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Early Intervention

“Education, practice, awareness, and implementation of new daily experiences are the keys to a successful individual maximal potential in the child’s development process.”

What is Early Intervention?

Early Intervention involves actively exposing anyone to learning through experiences. The earlier I am exposed to an experience, the less frightening, more enjoyable, and more achievable it becomes over time.

Also, early intervention in one experience can give many healthy opportunities to learn a task, a skill that will impact the learner’s emotions with a sense of pride.

In a typical young child, this active learning process, “Early Intervention,” has proven to be the key to faster learning skills, such as managing frustration more easily, feeling of pride and control, appropriate self-regulation, empathy with others, and advanced language skills in the areas of receptive and expressive development, among many other skills.

In a young child with any developmental delays and/or disabilities, this active learning process, “Early Intervention,” also has proven to be the key to maximize their own potential within their developmental delay and/or disability.

Since this fact has been proven, the services and support available to infants, toddlers, and young kids with developmental delays and/or disabilities and their families refer themselves to “Early Intervention Programs or Services”

Under the umbrella of Early Intervention, there are many programs and services that include skilled professionals that address each of the 5 areas of development

– Social-Emotional.

– Adaptive.

– Language

– Fine and Gross Motor.

– Cognitive.

Each professional will look at their angle of expertise, but all of them will be the essential pieces for the unified intervention and progress.

This group of Early Intervention professionals includes:

– Speech therapists.

– Occupational therapists.

– Psychologist.

– Nutritionist.

– Infant Toddler Developmental Specialist “ITDS”.

– Pre-K teacher, among others.

Early Intervention is not only an active doing that directly impacts the development of a child’s learning process but goes beyond that.

It is a support system that builds the families’ and caregivers capacities and confidence to implement what they have learned with these professionals to their children through activities that are part of their everyday routine.

There are many programs available in every state and territory. Some of them are

Public-funded federal programs provide free services to any eligible child under 3 years old and other programs run after 3 years old until 5 or 6 years old.

Why is early intervention important?

Each step of development has an impact on the foundation of learning. This foundation is vital to reach the maximal potential development in each child.

Every skill master or not master, has a domino effect in the next step to follow. Therefore, positive early experiences are essential prerequisites that will impact success later in school, sports, community, and among family members and friends.

As a parent or caregiver of a child that is at risk for developmental delay and/or with a disability, “Early Intervention” is a vital piece to build the capacity and confidence you will need to support your child every step of their journey.

How can I get Early Intervention services?

Early Steps is a public federally funded organization where you can get Early Intervention Services” that anyone, including parents, and teachers may refer a child as soon as there is a concern for a developmental delay. A doctors referral is not necessary.

Contact your local Early Steps Office

Counties:

Alachua, Columbia, Dixie, Gilchrist, Hamilton, Lafayette, Levy, Marion, Suwannee, Union

Department of Pediatrics
1329 Southwest 16th Street, Room 4160

Post Office Box 100296
Gainesville, Florida 32610-0296
Phone: (352) 273-8555
Fax: (352) 294-8088

Counties:

Citrus, Hernando, Pasco, Pinellas

Headquarters Johns Hopkins All Children’s Hospital

480 7th Avenue South,
St. Petersburg, Florida 33701
Toll-Free: (800) 374-4334
Phone: (727) 767-4403
Fax: (727) 767-4715

Mailing Address:
Johns Hopkins All Children’s Hospital
Post Office Box 31020 – Dept. 6500006005
St. Petersburg, Florida 33701

Counties:

Flagler

160 Cypress Point Parkway. Suite A113.

Palm Coast, Fl 32720

Phone: 386-873-0365

Lake, Sumter

3261 USHWY 441/27, Unit B2

Fruitland ParkFl, 34731-4492

Phone:352-323-0612

Putnam

421 Saint Johns Avenue, Suite 1

Palatka, Fl32177

Phone:386-871-0803