What to Look for in an Early Intervention Program

Early Beginnings for Families with Deaf and Hard of Hearing Children:
Myths and Facts of Early Intervention and Guidelines for Effective Services

By Marilyn Sass-Lehrer, Ph.D.

Section II: What to Look for in an Early Intervention Program

Full paper in PDF format (25 pages, 311KB)

The following descriptions of effective early intervention programs and services (separated into the categories of family-centered services, communication and language acquisition, and collaboration in program development and evaluation) may be helpful to families seeking effective early intervention services, service providers looking for models, or others concerned about the quality of programs and services.

Family-centered Services

Effective early intervention programs and services:

• are family-centered, building on the family's strengths and resources to enhance the child's development and learning;
• support the family's connections with its culture/community and access to resources that promote the family and child's well-being;
• provide information to the family about specialized services available for young children who are deaf and hard of hearing and their families;
• develop collaborative relationships with families that promote the family's confidence and competence to make informed decisions regarding their child's and family's future;
• provide programs and services that support the emotional needs of the family and facilitate their adaptation and understanding of their child's strengths and needs;
• promote family adaptation to hearing loss by connecting families with other parents as well as adults and children who are deaf and hard of hearing;
• assist the family in learning about their child's unique talents and abilities and support interactions and communication approaches that enhance their child's development;

Communication and Language Acquisition

Effective early intervention programs and services:

• provide information to the family about the importance of early communication and language acquisition;
• facilitate the family's understanding of the full range of communication and language approaches;
• facilitate parent/caregiver and child interactions and communication utilizing visual and auditory/verbal strategies that provide full access to communication;
• ensure the family and young children have good language and cultural role models to support the family and child's communication and social-emotional development;
• collaborate with the family to determine how visual and auditory communication technologies can enhance access to communication and language for their child;

Collaboration in Program Development and Evaluation

Effective early intervention programs and services:

• utilize an interdisciplinary approach to providing comprehensive and high-quality services to the family and children by specialists who are well-prepared to meet the priorities and concerns of families with young deaf or hard of hearing children;
• provide opportunities for the family to participate in the design and evaluation of programs and services that support family involvement in all aspects of the early intervention program;
• establish collaborative relationships with medical, health care, and hearing care professionals, early intervention state and local systems, community agencies, and specialized agencies and programs for deaf and hard of hearing people;
• provide individualized approaches to assessment and intervention that support the child and family's strengths and resources;
• utilize research-based best practices for promoting the overall development of young deaf or hard of hearing children and supporting the priorities and concerns of the family; and
• demonstrate effectiveness by evaluating the progress made by young children in their programs and assessing the family's satisfaction with the services they receive.

Early Beginnings Topic List

• Conclusion
• Early Beginnings for Families with Deaf and Hard of Hearing Children: Introduction
• What is the purpose of early intervention?
• What to Look for in an Early Intervention Program
• Myths and Facts about Early Identification and Early Intervention
• Appendix