gross motor activities for infantsCan Early Intervention Help My Child?

In their first 3 years of life, children pass a variety of milestones having to do with physical and mental growth, adaptive skills, communication, and socialization. Sometimes children experience delays or health conditions that may lead to developmental delays.

That’s where Early Intervention comes in. The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) is a federal law guaranteeing all children with disabilities access to a free and appropriate public education. Part C of the Act provides Early Intervention services for at-risk children 0 – 3 years’ old.

Developmental delays can take many forms and may have significant, long-term affects on a child’s physical skills, learning abilities, and socialization. Early Intervention starts by evaluating a child’s development against known milestones.

Do you have questions about your child’s development? Are you wondering if Early Intervention could help your child? choose the relevant developmental category below to find out more about therapy options at TEIS.

Developmental Categories

Would you like to learn more about how early intervention can help children with developmental delays?  Call TEIS Early Intervention at 412-271-8347 or text 412-543-8398 for more information. Our business Hours are 8:00 am to 4:00 pm, M-F.

What to Look Out For?

All kids develop at different rates, and not meeting milestones at the same time as other kids the same age is not always a reason to worry. For example, some babies start walking as early as 9 months, while others may not take their first steps for more than a year.

A few of the childhood milestones listed by the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) include:

  • Smiling spontaneously and babbling at 4 months.
  • Crawling within the first 9 months.
  • Tries to say words and copies gestures by 12 months.
  • Walks alone and explores with parents nearby at 18 months.
  • Repeats words and builds with blocks by 24 months.
  • Plays make believe, climbs well, and runs easily by 36 months.

You can learn more by visiting the website of the CDC’s Developmental Milestones.

Sometimes children who may appear to be lagging catch up on their own, but a child with a developmental disability, such as autism, will need therapeutic intervention to reach their best potential.

At TEIS, Inc., we have a series of milestone meter quizzes and questionnaires to help you monitor your child’s progress. You can also call TEIS Early Intervention at 412-271-8347 or text 412-543-8398 for more information

Proven Advantages of Early Intervention

The earlier developmental delays are detected, the greater the chance children have of reaching their full potential.

Parents choose early intervention therapies because they have been shown to yield benefits both immediate and life-long in areas such as behavior, academic achievement, delinquency and crime, and eventual career attainment.

Studies of Early Intervention by institutions as prestigious as Rand Corporation Research have shown benefits in academic achievement, behavior, educational attainment, labor market success, and reduced delinquency and crime.

Early Intervention has achieved broad support from government not only for its favorable effects on childhood outcomes, but also because well-designed programs have been found to generate a return to society ranging from $1.80 to $17.07 for every dollar spent.

Today there is little doubt that investing early in the lives of disadvantaged children, children with developmental delays, and those with developmental disabilities can have a long-lasting positive effect for the children, their parents, and society.

Tele-Intervention

Since the arrival of the COVID-19 pandemic, it has become difficult to provide in-person services of all kinds. In response, many early intervention providers are turning to tele-intervention as a means of continuing to serve children in need.

Tele-Intervention provides Early Intervention Services online through videoconferencing. The therapy is the same, except that families and therapists meet via online video. If you’ve ever used Facetime or Skype, you already know the basics of how this works!

With Tele-Intervention, Therapies such as Speech Therapy, Occupational Therapy and Physical therapy are delivered in real time over the Internet – meeting with the therapists online. Tele-Intervention sessions are held on a phone, tablet or computer. Using these new online tools, Tele-Intervention can enhance the delivery of services in some cases!

Would you like to learn more about how early intervention can help children with developmental delays during the coronavirus pandemic? Call TEIS Early Intervention at 412-271-8347 or text 412-543-8398 for more information. Our business Hours are 8:00 am to 4:00 pm, M-F.