Children grow and develop rapidly during their first three years of life. Although each child is special and grows and learns at his or her own pace, some children need extra help. This extra help is called Early Childhood Intervention.
Research shows that growth and development are most rapid in the first three years of life. The earlier a delay can be identified, and a child receive intervention, the better the outcome for that child.
Because parents spend so much time with their children, they often are the first to identify a concern about development. If there are concerns or questions about how a child is growing or learning.
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Early Childhood Intervention or ECI is a 
statewide program for families with children, birth to three, with developmental delays or disabilities. ECI is state and federally funded through the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA, P.L. 108-446). Families and professionals work as a team to plan appropriate services based on the unique needs of the child and family.
Children under three years old are eligible if they have a developmental delay in one of the following areas: learning, movement, ability to talk, ability to understand and get along with others. Children are also eligible if they are determined to have atypical development such as abnormalities in behavior. Medically diagnosed conditions that are known to lead to developmental delay such as cerebral palsy, seizures, Down syndrome, etc. also qualify a child for services.
The following services are provided at no cost regardless of income:
- Evaluation/assessment
- Development of the Individual Family Service Plan (IFSP)
- Service Coordination
- Translation and interpretation services, if needed
- Services for children with auditory and visual impairments who are eligible for services from ECI and local school districts
- Services for children in foster care or in conservatorship of the state
Services for children in foster care or in conservatorship of the state ECI asks families who can afford to do so, to share in the cost of services. The amount a family pays for ECI services is determined using a sliding fee scale and is based on family size and income after allowable deductions. No child and family will be turned away because of an inability to pay.
Services are provided in the child’s “natural environment” where they live, learn, and play. This may be in the home, daycare, or community setting where your child feels most comfortable. In this way, your child’s intervention will help him participate in everyday activities.
Services are available for children and young adults with a disability, ages 3 through 21, through your local school district. A referral for assessment may be made by contacting the special education department for your local school district. The telephone number can be found in the white pages of the phone book.
Developmental Milestones
Babies and toddlers grow and develop very rapidly in the early years of life. The changes babies and toddlers go through as they grow are made up of different skills like walking and talking. These skills, or developmental milestones, usually happen by certain ages. Parents and family members help their children learn these skills through playing with them and through daily activities. Because parents spend so much time with their children, they often are the first to identify a concern about development.
If there are concerns or questions about how a child is growing or learning, consult with the child's doctor or call the DARS Inquiries Line at 1-800-628-5115 for more information or for referral to an ECI program in your area. ECI professionals are experts in child development. ECI supports families and helps them meet their children's needs. The earlier children with developmental delays or special needs receive help, the better
- Turn toward bright colors and lights
- Follow moving toys or faces with their eyes
- Recognize or know the bottle or breast
- Respond to loud or new sounds
- Reach for and grasp toys or hair
- Wiggle and kick their legs and arms
- Lift their head and shoulders up while on stomach
- smile back at parents or other family members
- make sounds, like gurgling, cooing or babbling
- Turn toward voices
- Reach for toys and pick them up
- Roll over front-to-back and back-to-front
- Play with my toes
- Help hold bottle during feedings, if bottle fed
- Know faces of family members
- Babble, squeal, and repeat vowel sounds, like ooh, -ae, -e
- Sit by leaning on my hand
- Copy sounds or gestures
- Reach for crumbs or other small things with my thumb and fingers
- Move toys from one hand to the other hand
- Straighten their arms to support themselves when they are on their stomach
- Understand the word "No"
- Respond to their name
- May be scared of strangers
- Look for an object if you hide it from them, even if they can't see it
- Crawl on their hands and knees
- Pull themselves to a standing position
- Walk by holding onto furniture
- Drink from a cup with your help
- Enjoy playing games, like peek-a-boo or patty cake
- Say 1 to 2 words
- Use gestures
- Like to look at pictures in a book
- Can hold a crayon in their fist
- Hand toys to you when you ask them
- Can point to pictures you name, if the things in the picture are familiar to them
- Walk alone without help
- Pull and push things
- Follow simple directions
- Pull off shoes and socks
- Feed themselves sometimes
- Step off low objects and keep balance
- Turn 2 to 3 pages of a book at a time
- Point to one body part
- Name one object
- Copy your words or actions
- Name 2 objects
- Pretend-play
- Put together a simple picture puzzle if it has only 2 or 3 large pieces
- Throw balls
- Play alone with toys for a short time
- Say "No" a lot
- Use 2 to 3 words together, like "No, Mommy" or "More cookies"
- Say names of toys and people
- Feed themselves with a spoon
- Turn one page at a time
- Point to hair, eyes and nose when someone asks them
- Show affection to family members and pets
- Run short distances without falling
- Answer simple questions
- Walk up steps, alternating feet
- Put their clothes on by themselves
- Open simple containers
- Play with other children
- Repeat simple rhymes and songs
- Use 3 to 5 word sentences
- Name at least one color correctly
- Jump in place
- Express their emotions