SHLD 745 Early Intervention

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SHLD 745 Early Intervention

• Fall Semester 2006
• Instructor Cindy Savage

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Legislation Affecting Young Children

• 1965-Project Head Start. Office of Economic
  Act.
• Established early education programs for
  4-year-old children from economically
  disadvantages homes.
• First acknowledge of the importance of early
  intervention

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• -HCEEP Handicapped Childrens Early Education
  Act. PL 89-750. Provided funding for
  establishing experimental and model programs for
  early education programs

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• Head Start. PL 92-424. Established a
  preschool mandate that required that not less
  than 10 percent of the total number of Head Start
  placements be reserved for children with
  disabilities.
• 1974 Education Amendments. PL 93-380.
  Established a total federal commitment to the
  education of children with disabilities.
  Provided funds for teacher training and was a
  precursor to PL 94-142.

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1975 Education for all Handicapped Children Act
(EHA). PL 94-142. Department of Education.

• Provided that all children with disabilities have
  a free, appropriate public education with related
  services, and Individualized Education Program
  (IEP) requiring parent/caregiver input, and
  education in the least restrictive environment.
  Part B of EHA established the categories of
  disabilities and mandated special education
  services for children 5 through 21 years old.
• Established due-process procedures.
• Early intervention services were not included
  and were provided primarily by private
  agencies.

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• The Education of the Handicapped Act
  Amendments. PL 98-199. Provided financial
  incentive for states to extend services levels to
  children at birth.
• 1986 The Education of the Handicapped Children's
  Act Amendments. Amendments to EHA. PL 99-457.
  Extended PL 94-142 (EHA) Part B to full services
  for 3- through 5-year olds. Established Part H,
  added a new grant program for establishing a
  comprehensive system of early intervention
  services for infants and toddlers with
  disabilities and their families. Not mandatory
  for states to participate, but if they wanted
  Part H money, they had to follow the laws.

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• PL 94-457 Provided financial assistance to
  states to
• Develop and implement statewide, comprehensive,
  multidisciplinary, interagency programs.
• Facilitate coordination of EI resources for all
  levels
• Improve states ability to provided services.
  DID NOT MANDATE SERVICES OR PROVIDED MONEY FOR
  SERVICES.

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PL 94-457 (continued)

• Evaluations in native language of children with
  special needs.
• Evaluations be administered by appropriate
  trained personnel
• No single evaluation procedure be used to
  determine a childs eligibility for services

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• Individuals with Disabilities Education Act
  (IDEA). PL 101-476. a reauthorization of
• PL 94-142. It is the basis of the assessment,
  placement, and teaching for children and youth
  with disabilities. Included children with autism
  and traumatic brain injury.
• 1991 The Early Childhood Amendments to IDEA. PL
  102-119. Department of Education. This law
  amends PL 101-476 with regard to young children
  with disabilities. Amends Part H for infants and
  toddlers and Part B for preschoolers with
  disabilities. Added vision and assistive
  technology services.

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1997 The Individuals with Disabilities Education
Act of 1997 PL 105-17.

• IDEA reauthorized.
• It includes Part C, Infants and Toddlers with
  Disabilities and it makes several changes in the
  preschool program for children with disabilities.
  
• Allowed children from 3 to 9 year to be
  identified as developmentally delayed, which was
  previously restricted to children from 3 to 5
  years of age.
• It also incorporates features of the earlier
  early childhood laws (PL-99-457) and (PL
  102-119).

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IDEA of 1997

• Required LEAs (local education agency) to develop
  an Individual Family Service Plan (IFSP) for
  every family of children with handicaps or
  at-risk conditions from birth to 3 years of age.
• Allowed children with Attention-Deficit disorder
  (ADD) and Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity
  Disorder (DHD) to be identified as having a
  disability if they met the criteria for Specific
  learning disability.
• Required information provided to parents be given
  in a language that is easily understood by them

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• Some changes
• Strong language on serving at-risk children, but
  not mandated.
• Emphasis on service provision in natural
  environments. If child is not served in the
  natural environment, IFSP/IEP must say why.
• Increase from 315 to 400 million for EI

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Pennsylvania House Bill 1861-Early Intervention
Services System Act-Approved December 19,1990

• Providing for early intervention service for
  infants, toddlers and preschool children who
  qualify establishing an Interagency Coordinating
  Council and providing for it power and duties
  and conferring powers and duties upon the
  Department of Education and the State Board of
  Education, the Department of Health and the
  Department of Public Welfare.

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Purpose of the Bill (Section 102)

• Assembly determined to need to
• Increase the opportunity for the development of
  infants, toddlers and eligible young children who
  are handicapped in order to minimize their
  potential for developmental delay.
• Minimize the need for special education services
  as these infants, toddlers and eligible young
  children who are handicapped attain the age of
  beginners.

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• 3. Reduce the number of handicapped individuals
  being place in institutions and enhance their
  potential for independent living in society.
• Assist the families of handicapped infants and
  toddlers to meet their childrens special needs.

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• 5. Implement the provisions of Parts B and H in
  order to be eligible to receive federal funding
  to help establish and maintain program and
  services to assist handicapped infants, toddlers
  and their families and eligible you children.

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Early Intervention Services are to be

• Under public supervision
• Are designed to meet the needs of a handicapped
  infant, toddler or eligible young child in any of
  the following areas
• a. Physical development
• b. Cognitive development
• c. Sensory development
• d. Language and speech or alternative
  communication development
• e. Self-help skills

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• 3. Are developed to meet the requirements of this
  act, including, but not limited to the
  following
• a. Family training
• b. Social work services, including counseling
  and home visits
• c. Special instruction
• d. Speech pathology and audiology
• e. Occupational therapy

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• f. Physical therapy
• g. Psychological services
• h. Medical services for diagnostic and
  evaluation purposes
• i. Early identification, screening and
  assessment services
• j. health services necessary to enable the infant
  or toddler to benefit from other early
  intervention services
• k. For handicapped infants and toddlers, other
  services required by Part H

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• Are provided by qualified personnel
• Are provided in conformity with IFSP
• 6. Are in compliance with Part B

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• Are provided in the least restrictive environment
  appropriate to the childs needs. Infants,
  toddlers and eligible you children who will be
  served in a non-home-based setting must, to the
  maximum extent consistent with the childs
  abilities, receiving early intervention services
  in a setting with nonhandicapped children. Each
  infants or toddler's IFSP and each eligible
  young childs IEP must contain the recommended
  service option placement and the rationale for
  why it represents the least restrictive
  environment.

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• Eligibility
• The child has any of the following physical or
  mental disabilities autism/pervasive
  developmental disorder, serious emotional
  disturbance, neurological impairment,
  deafness/hearing impairment, specific learning
  disability, mental retardation, multihandicap,
  other health impairment, physical disability,
  speech impairment or blindness/visual impairment.

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Why a Separate Course in Early Intervention?

• Special Skills Needed
• Need of individuals with seriously handicapping
  conditions. Many of these children have multiple
  handicaps, therefore, a working knowledge of
  development is necessary as well as a medical
  background
• Single-agency to multiagency approach.
• Assessment is observational/play based. Young
  children are difficult to test and do not do well
  on standardized assessment instruments. We do
  use standardized instruments, but we must rely
  heavily on experience and observation.

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• Transdisciplinary. You may be working on skills
  that are not in you area of expertise (i.e. motor
  development). Need a working knowledge of other
  domains of development.
• Focus on intervention is the family rather than
  the child. Therefore, you need special skills in
  working with families.
• Intervention occurs in naturalistic setting.
  Unlike working in one-on-one setting with
  children.