AAIDD POLICY STATEMENTS

AAIDD/ARC Position Statements

EARLY INTERVENTION

POLICY STATEMENT

All quality early intervention supports and services must be available, affordable, appropriate, accountable, and accessible for all children with developmental delays as well as those with already-identified mental retardation and related developmental disabilities to maximize their social, physical, emotional, and intellectual development.

ISSUE

Although the scientific and practical knowledge base indicates that providing early and intensive support services is essential, these services remain inadequate. Early intervention services are inconsistent at the state and local level. These services are often neither appropriate, well timed, nor sufficient in intensity and quality to promote positive development or to prevent complicating secondary conditions. Generally, early intervention services do not build upon the strengths of families and communities. Many children at risk for developmental delays due to a combination of environmental and biological factors are not identified in a timely fashion.

POSITION

Early intervention services need to be strengthened at the national, state, and local level. Screening and early diagnosis and identification must be readily available and widely publicized through awareness campaigns and local child find initiatives. Early intervention should enhance the overall well-being and development of children who have or are "at risk" for developmental disabilities. Early intervention should be:

Child and Family Focused, involving:

A commitment to the importance of the family in the lives of children, as children's primary source of lifelong support and early learning.
An awareness and celebration that each child is unique and that early intervention must therefore be individually tailored developmentally and culturally appropriate.
Supports provided in a manner that recognizes and respects the cultural, socioeconomic, geographic, and linguistic differences among families.
Services provided in the child's natural environment and, to the maximum extent possible, with same-aged peers who do not have disabilities.

Well-Coordinated, involving:

Recognition of the value of providing interdisciplinary services and supports that are well coordinated, collaborative, and community-based, affording children and their families a full use of the spectrum of health, social, and educational supports in their communities.
Appropriate coordination that eases transitions between early intervention and public education.

High Quality, involving:

Full use of up-to-date scientific and practical information about what types and amounts of supports and services most benefit infants, toddlers, and young children.
Childcare and preschool generic service providers that have sufficient background and rigorous training in characteristics and educational needs of infants, toddlers, and young children who have disabilities.
Need for active and informative monitoring and evaluation of early intervention to ensure ongoing improvement as well as equity and effectiveness.

Adopted: The Arc, Congress of Delegates, November 9, 2002
AAIDD Board of Directors, May 28, 2002