Early Intervention Principles & Services

Summary of Early Intervention Principles
  • Support for families in promoting their child's optimal development;
  • Support for families in assisting their child's participation in family and community activities;
  • EI providers embed intervention strategies into family routines;
  • Parents provide the real early intervention by creatively adapting their child care methods to aid the development of their child while balancing the needs of the rest of the family;



  • Cooperative relationships between families and providers;
  • Develop family goals that are family-centered, functional and measurable;
  • Building outcomes around the family routines with written home activity programs to support family participation on a daily basis;
  • Monitor periodically to assure strategies are successful in achieving outcomes.
Early Intervention Services
EI services are developed and designed to meet an infant's and toddler's developmental needs in any one or more of the following areas:
  • Physical development (how your baby moves and explores)
  • Cognitive development (how your baby learns)
  • Communication (how your baby lets you know what he/she needs)
  • Social or emotional development (how your baby engages with you and shows feelings)
  • Adaptive development (how your baby uses new skills)
Developmental Services Include
  • Assistive technology devices
  • Early identification and assessment
  • Family training, counseling and home visits
  • Health services necessary to enable the infant or toddler to benefit from other EI services
  • Medical (only for diagnostic or evaluation purposes)
  • Nursing
  • Nutrition
  • Occupational therapy


  • Physical therapy
  • Psychological
  • Service coordination
  • Social work
  • Special instruction/developmental therapy
  • Speech language pathology and audiology
  • Transportation
  • Vision
Services Are Provided As
Direct services are one-on-one interactions with a child and family to provide parent education, intervention, and environmental support to a family.

Services are provided by qualified personnel whom the Department of Human Services, Bureau of Early Intervention credentials and enrolls within the EI system.
  • Family therapists
  • Nurses
  • Nutritionists
  • Occupational therapists
  • Optometrists
  • Orientation and mobility specialists
  • Pediatricians and other physicians
  • Physical therapists
  • Psychologists
  • Social workers
  • Special educators (child development specialists)
  • Speech/language pathologists and audiologists
The individualized Family Services Plan (IFSP) determines what services a child will receive based on a child's and family's needs.