Early Intervention Services

Early intervention services are specially designed to address the educational and developmental needs of very young children experiencing developmental delays or found to have a disability . Early intervention provides free developmental evaluations and assists families in finding services for their little one. These services are available through the same law that makes special education services available—the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act.

If you think your baby or toddler needs special help, you should get in touch with the early intervention system in your area. The easiest way to do this is to call the state contact in order to be refered to your local agency. We recommend that you look at State Resources for your state under the heading “Programs for Infants and Toddlers with Disabilities: Ages Birth through 3” (It can also be found on the Popular Searches box on the right of the page, listed as "Early Intervention Programs"). Once you call the agency listed, explain that you want to find out about early intervention services for your child. Ask for the name of the office, a contact person, and the phone number in your area.

How else might you find out about early intervention services in your community? Here are a few ways:

• Ask your child’s pediatrician to put you in touch with the early intervention system in your community or region;
• Contact the Pediatrics branch in a local hospital and ask where you should call to find out about early intervention services in your area; or
• Contact the Parent training and information (PTI) center and community parent resource centers (CPRC) also listed under your state resources.

It is very important to write down the names and phone numbers of everyone you talk to. You can use the Parent's Record-Keeping Worksheet found at the bottom of the page "Overview of Early Intervention". Having this information available will be helpful to you later on.