speech-language pathologists, usually provide these
services. A governing agency generally oversees the
running of these programs, their services, and the
service providers.
How Children Qualify for Early
Intervention
There are several ways children can participate in
an early intervention program. The most common
way is by having their level of development assessed
using a formal, standardized assessment. Individual
states have regulations regarding the use of these as-
sessments and their role in qualifying children for
early intervention services. Children are also eligible
to receive early intervention services if they have a
known disability, such as Down syndrome, which car-
ries the likelihood that a delay in later development
will occur. Finally, in most states, professionals who
work with children may recommend that a child re-
ceive early intervention services based on their pro-
fessional judgment.
With the passage of Public Law 94-142 in 1977,
now called the Individuals with Disabilities Education
Act (IDEA), the federal government requires that
states provide early intervention services for children
from birth through age five. In most circumstances,
these services are provided free of charge to families.
In addition to focusing on children with special
needs, the federal government in the 1990s began in-
creasing its early intervention focus on programs for
children who are at-risk because of their socioeco-
nomic status as well as other risk factors such as an un-
stable home environment, including the presence of
violence and drug abuse. For children who are at-risk,
the most common way to qualify for an early interven-
tion program is for the family’s income to be below
a certain dollar threshold.
How Early Intervention Programs Work
Early intervention services and programs take
many forms. The philosophy behind the delivery of
these services is to serve the child and the family in
the most natural setting. Many children are provided
early intervention services in their home, a home
child-care setting, a preschool setting, or a combina-
tion of these. Services can be provided on an individu-
al basis or in a group, and good early intervention
programs include a strong parental component that
supports the family while giving the family informa-
tion about issues the family views as important.
The Foundation of Early Intervention
A growing awareness of the importance of the
early years and their long-lasting impact on future de-
velopment began in the early twentieth century and
continued into the early twenty-first century. Building
upon that awareness, the idea took hold that provid-
ing children with a solid, stimulating foundation in
the early years can greatly affect their development.
The results of brain research captured the attention
of child development specialists in the 1990s. The ex-
tent to which a child develops is no longer thought to
be due only to the child’s genetic makeup. Profession-
als now believe that how a person’s brain, and conse-
quently the rest of the person, develops is based on
the interaction between the person’s environment
and the genes the person was born with. The classic
study conducted by two psychologists H. H. Skeels
and H. B. Dye in Iowa orphanages in 1939 supports
the knowledge scientists have in the early twenty-first
century. The results of this study revealed that chil-
dren in the orphanages who interacted with women
with mental retardation improved their IQ scores
dramatically, while those who did not receive any in-
teraction or stimulation did not gain any IQ points.
In fact, the latter children lost IQ points when given
the same standardized test.
In addition to understanding the importance of
the environment and early experiences, scientists
know that the brain’s capacity for learning is not fixed
in the early years but can actually increase as a result
of early intervention. For example, if an at-risk child
with a language delay receives early intervention ser-
vices, she can often overcome this delay and do just
as well as her peers in school. By contrast, if a child
has a language delay and does not receive any early
intervention services, not only will she fail to close this
gap, but the gap will also often widen, leading to fur-
ther learning difficulties throughout her life. Scien-
tists also believe there are certain times in a child’s
development that are critical periods for learning cer-
tain skills. Although children and adults can acquire
new skills throughout their lives, windows of opportu-
nity in the early years open and then close, thus affect-
ing development.A Successful Early Intervention Program:
Head Start
As early intervention programs have grown in
popularity and number over the years, several stand
out as exceptional programs. Probably the best-
known early intervention program for children is
Head Start. The Head Start program was developed
in 1965 by the federal government as an effort to
combat poverty in the United States. Head Start con-130 EARLY INTERVENTION PROGRAMS