Early Intervention

The world of early intervention services has changed considerably over the last few decades. Twenty years ago educators and therapists were looking to reach younger children and they promoted the advantages of early identification for three, four, and five year olds. We also saw the miraculous benefits of working with infants born prematurely or in high-risk deliveries. But, at least in my experience, we were fairly casual about referring one and two year olds for speech therapy and we certainly did not have the information we do today about the autism spectrum.

To paraphrase the words of Dr. Michelle Larocque, professor at Florida Atlantic University and consultant to B’nai Torah Early Childhood….

with early identification of toddlers, we can rewire children’s brains!

The world is changing. There was a time when a baby born at one pound could not expect the same opportunities as a baby carried to full term. Today, the same is true for children with a wide range of developmental differences. With new information and natural-setting therapies, very young children can participate in stress-free sessions that will lead to significant improvements.

So, for all of us – educators, pediatricians, concerned family and friends – who believe in the power of time and development, it’s time to rethink our response to parent’s questions about “is my child where he should be?” Development is individual and usually one area of development exceeds another area (an early talker may be a late walker). But with resources available today, we have an obligation to be informed about earlier identification and earlier support services.

I only ask that we all find a responsible way to offer support without creating a new hysteria. With new media attention and last week’s Oprah show with Jenny McCarthy, http://www2.oprah.com/tows/pastshows/200709/tows_past_20070918.jhtml?promocode=HP31it’s understandable that the perennial fear “is my child normal?” gets ratcheted up a few notches. And the cliché “a little information is dangerous” is true as I hear stories of quasi-professionals making “diagnoses” that are inaccurate and inappropriate.

We all need to learn more and we need to temper knowledge with compassion and respect. For more information, see http://www.autismspeaks.org/