Summary and Lit Review of a Study on Early Intervention

Summary

Bailey et al.’s Thirty-Six-Month Outcomes for Families of Children Who Have Disabilities and Participated in Early Intervention

Background

Developmental delay is defined in (Part C) of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), the federal law that governs services to infants and toddlers from birth to age three and their families. Services cover a wide range of delays such as speech delays, hearing/visual impairments, and disabilities such as autism, downs syndrome, and cerebral palsy (Casanueva, et al., 2008). Programs are available to assist families based upon individual needs of the developmentally delayed or disabled infant/toddler (20 U.S.C. § 1431, et seq. to 1444).

Numerous studies indicate that the provision of early intervention services to children born with developmental delays and disabilities is critical in decreasing deficits (Campbell, and Ramey, 1994). The timely provision of these services can reduce the need for special education services, developmental disability services, and other programs as the child ages (Bailey et al., 2005).

Research conducted in the areas of developmental and socio-emotional concerns provide information used to understand and to evaluate child and family needs concerning screening and early intervention. Knowledge gained through the research includes availability and utilization of services; alerts for gaps in services; and allows for improvements in early intervention services (Schuele and Justice, 2006).

This review focuses on the study performed by Bailey et al (2005), “Thirty-Six-Month Outcomes for Families of Children Who Have Disabilities and Participated in Early Intervention” as published in Pediatrics. The purpose of the study was to evaluate the outcomes of Early Intervention services, and its successful results among infants and toddlers with disabilities near the third birthday. This study addresses limitations of previous studies by expanding the family characteristics...