By Sandra M. Peters, as published in Preemie Parent Connection, July 1996, Vol. 1, Iss. 3
NOTE: Each state has the choice of setting up a comprehensive, statewide program for infants and toddlers with disabilities, and their families. This program is called the Early Intervention Program. The Governor of each state is required to choose an agency to lead in the development of this program and coordinate services and policies among the several agencies which provide services to infants, toddlers, and thier families. In New York State, the State Department of Health has been selected by the Governor to administer the Early Intervention Program. The information in this article was obtained from Your Family Rights: A Family Guide for the New York State Early Intervention Program for Infants and Toddlers with Disabilities., produced by New York State Department of Health and New York State Commisssion of Quality of Care. If you do not live in New York State, please keep in mind that this article is written about the New York State Early Intervention Program, you should check your Yellow Pages, or with your Public Health Department, for information about this program in your state.
As you know, premature babies are at risk for developmental delays, as well as a variety of other problems. The Early Intervention Program can help these babies to reach their full potential by providing them with special services as early as possible in their lives. Many parents have the misconception that this program is associated with Social Services or Child Welfare and fear that their child will be taken away from them or are concerned about what their neighbors may think about them being visited by "social workers". These thoughts could not be any further from the truth. A parent that participates in the Early Intervention Program is a parent that is providing the BEST chances for their child to live a fulfilling life.
The Early Intervention Program can help infants and toddlers, inder the age of three, that have a developmental dalay, vision, hearing or other physical impairments. This program also helps children in the areas of cognitive development, communication, social development, emotional development and adaptive development (self-help skills). The Early Intervention Program will help you and your family meet the special needs of your child. Services provided by the Program include evaluations, speech pathology and audiology, occupational therapy, physical therapy, nutritional services, vision services, transportation, and respite (child care) services among others. If you think your child may benefit from this program, this article will describe the process of getting your child into the Early Intervention Program.
If one of the following is true about your child, you may want to consider
having your child screened and/or evaluated under the Early Intervention
Program:
Referral. If you think your child may be eligible for the Early Intervention Program, call the Program and inform them that your child may have special needs. There are, however, many others who may make referrals, including doctors, hospitals, public health nurses, child care centers and family day care centers. Even if someone else refers your child to the program, only YOU, the parent, can give permission to have your child evaluated.
Service Coordinator. Once your child has been referred to EIP, a person known as the Service Coordinator will contact you. The Service Coordinator provides you with information about the Program, a copy of Your Family Rights handbook and a list of evaluators for you to choose from. Among other duties, the Service Coordinator helps arrange for evaluations, sets up an Individualized Famuily Service Plan meeting, makes arrangements for the periodic review of the IFSP and makes sure, when your child nears three years of age, that the IFSP has a plan to help your child move from Early Intervention services to preschool or other services, if needed.
Screening. A screening can be used to see if your child has a developmental delay, or to help identify the type of evaluation that could best determine your child's eligibility and the services needed. You do not have to have your child screened and you can have your child evaluated without a screening. Furthermore, you can have your child evaluated even if the screening shows that your child has no developmental delays.
Evaluation. You will be given a complete list of evluators to choose from and your Service Coordinator can ehlp you choose an evaluator if you would like. Your Service Coordinator will help set up the appointments for eevaluations. The evaluation, and transportation if needed, is provided at no cost to you. Once you have given prermisusion for your chld to be evaluated, you will be told what tests will be used, what information the evauation team is looking for, how the evaluation team with get the information, and where your child will be evaluated. The evaluation team will watch your child at play, check your child's health and medical problems, talk to you about your concerns, review your child's developmetal history and give your child individual tests.
Individualized Family Service Plan (IFSP). If your child is found to be eligible, your Service Coordinator will next schedule and Individualized Family Service Plan meeting. This meeting will include the evaluator, Early Intervention official, your Service Coordinator, yourself, and any other person you invite. This meeting can be held no later than 45 days after Early Intervention received the referral for your child. But, if you feel that this process is moving too quickly for you, or you want to think things over for a while, you -- and only you -- can slow this process down.
The IFSP is a written plan that inlcudes information about your child's health, physical development (including vision and hearing), thinking ability, speech and language, social and emotional development. The plan also includes information about your family; what is most important to your family, family concerns, people and organizations your family can rely on in helping your child's development.
The IFSP is where the results that your child and family are expected to reach because of Early Intervention services are recorded. This is used to refer to later to determine how well the plan is working. The IFSP will list the specific services that your child and family are to receive and the dates, duration, frequency, and location of these services. The IFSP may also include a transition plan to help your child, and you, prepare for the time when your child is too old to receive Early Intervention services. You may want to have a special meeting arranged to discuss possible options for preschool services.
The IFSP is reviewed every six months and evaluated annually by you, your Service Coordinator, Early Intervention official, and providers of services. You can, however, request a review at anytime.
By Sandra M. Peters, as published in Preemie Parent Connection, July 1997, Vol. 2, Iss. 4
NOTE: Each state has the choice of setting up a comprehensive, statewide program for infants and toddlers (0-2) with disabilities and their families. This program is called the Early Intervention Program (EIP). The Governor of each state is required to choose an agency to lead in the development of this program and coordinate policies among the several agencies which provide services to infants, toddlers and their families. The information in this article is regarding New York State's Early Intervention Program which is administered by the State Department of Health.
If your childhas been receiving services from Early Intervention, you may be wondering what will happen when your child turns three years old and is no longer eligible for these services under the 0-2 program. There are a variety of options. First it must be determined whether your child needs preschool special education. When this question has been answered, you can then begin to consider the choices that follow.
First, the IFSP (Individualized Family Service Plan) team should determine whether your child is potentially eligible for preschool special education (3-5). However, the IFSP team only determines potential eligibility and their referral should NOT be confused with determining actual eligibility. The responsibility of determining the actual elibibility status of your child is that of the Committee on Preschool Special Education (CPSE). The Committee on Preschool Special Education [nationally referred to as the IEP Team but state's may have their own name for it, as New York State does] is made up of a District Chairperson, member of the evaluation team, district parent represntative, optional county representative, approved county 0-2 representative, yhou 9the child's parent0 and your child's service coordinator.
If the IFSP team believes that your child would NOT require preschool special education, your child's Service Coordinator can assist you accessing other early childhood services such as nursery schools, preschool programs, playgroups, day care centers or child care options. The Service Coordinator can provide you with information about your local Early Childhood Direction Center and Child Care Resource and Referral Agency which can further assist you in exploring your options.
If your child IS though to be potentially eligible for preschool special education, the IFSP team should discuss with you potential options and, with your consent, transmit information to the CPSE. The CPSE must request consent from you to evaluate your child and then give you a list of approved evaluators. The meeting of the CPSE must occur no later than 60 days before your child becomes eligible for preschool special education services.
At this point you might choose to keep your child in the Early Intervention Program (0-2) for the allowed time. Specifically, if your child turns three after September he may remain in EIP until January of the next calendar year; if your child turns three on or before August 31, he may remain in the EIP until September of that year. If you choose to keep your child in EIP, the CPSE would not be required to take any action at that time. However, there will soon come a time when your child will no longer be eligible to receive services from the Early Intervention Program (0-2).
If your child is considered potentially eligible for preschool special education services and you elect to move your child out of EIP, there is an optional transition conference you may wish to partake in. The purpose of the transition conference is to review the program options generally available and to develop a transition plan. The transition plan should provide a basic description of the steps to be taken to refer your child to services and may include information about the initial steps to be taken to help your child adjust to, and function in, a new setting and general ways to prepare personnel for your child's arrival. You may also want to consider combining the transition conference with the initial meeting of the CPSE.
If you decide to transition your child to preschool special education services you will first face the choice of whether you would like your child to receive these services at home (or caregiver's environment) or at a preschool special education center. Services delivered at home are similar to those your child received in the Early Intervention Program (0-2) and include physical therapy, occupational therapy, speech therapy, counseling, Teacher of the Visually Impaired, and/or Teacher of the Hearing Impaired. The center-based services are available five days per week with 2 1/2 hour sessions per day. Your child is required to attend the center-based program a minimum of two days per week. The preschool special education center provides developmentally appropriate language based activities and related services such as physical therapy, occupational therapy, speech therapy, etc. The Individual Education Program goals (similar to the IFSP of the Early Intervention 0-2 Program) are integrated into the program and your child's teacher is required to make monthly home visits with your family. Transportation service is available or reimbursement can be made to you if you trasport your child to and from the preschool special education center.
As with the Early Intervention Program (0-2), you may make changes to your child's IEP as you feel necessary. Therefore, you may try either home-based services or center-based services and later make the changes you feel would best suit your child's needs.
PLEASE NOTE: Although you are an equal member of the IEP Team, it is the whole team that determines eligibility and the Least Restrictive Environment for your child.
Go to Preschool Special Education for further information.
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