What is Early Childhood Intervention?
Early Childhood Intervention, or ECI, is a field of family-centred, individualised services for infants and young children (generally 0-3 or 0-6) and their families. Family-centred ECI services help to identify, prevent, overcome, or minimise at-risk situations, developmental delays, disabilities, behavioural conditions and mental health issues. They promote realising the child’s potential, and family strengthening and wellbeing.
Early years are the most formative in children’s lives as they set the foundations for their lifelong development. It is only through the inclusion and support of children from the youngest age, in their family life and community, that they will be able to participate in society, be included at school, build the skills to enter the labour market later as adults, and enjoy the full range of their human rights.
The aim of ECI is to empower families and main caregivers in creating an environment that supports their children’s development, the acquisition of competencies and social partcipation during their first years of life. With adequate support, parents and caregivers can provide the best, sustainable, and affordable support for their children, who can, in turn, thrive and develop in a familiar environment.
Their activities are based on families’ and children’s needs, and happen, when possible, in the natural environment of the child with the active participation of parents and caregivers. They might include the assessment of child and family needs, the creation of individualised family service plans, the provision of regular services according to needs, including speech, physical, and occupational therapies, communication and socialisation programmes, infant-parent psychotherapy, counselling to parents, and more.
In ECI, prevention is an integral part of the intervention. Family-centred ECI services are a key element in the deinstitutionalisation process as they contribute to preventing the placement of children in institutions and fostering their inclusion in education. They are integrated and interdisciplinary services, with the full participation of the health, social, and educational sectors and all relevant disciplines in supporting each family and child.
By giving the tools to families to support their children, ECI services manage to:
- Improve the outcomes of children, who can have ongoing meaningful support throughout the day and week, adapted to the family’s everyday life routines, as opposed to only when the therapist is present
- Improve the mental health, wellbeing, and confidence of families and carers, who learn to trust more in their children’s abilities and feel they can support them better
- Lower the costs for families of supporting children with disabilities, as the support is adapted to the already existing resources and environment of the family
- Improve the transition of children with disabilities to mainstream schools, putting them on the path of lifelong inclusion
- Empower the medical and social worker community to provide more targeted and effective support and guidance to prospective and new parents of children with disabilities.
Quality ECI services:
Recognize the central role family plays in a child’s life.
They encourage families to be included and contribute to their child’s learning and development.
Use evidence and outcome-based approaches.
Early childhood intervention professionals provide services grounded in research and clinical reasoning.
Promote the engagement of all children, regardless of their needs, in all aspects of life based on each child’s strengths.
ECI services foster learning in natural environments such as daily routines, at home, and in the community.
Work with well-trained professionals from various disciplines and backgrounds.
This helps to meet the diverse needs of each child and ensure quality teamwork.
