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VALLEY — The director of the Early Intervention program at Valley Haven School talked about what she and members of the EI team do to help young children and their families who are in need of their assistance. Jennifer Tidwell has been with the school for some 20 years. In 2019 she succeeded Trisha Williams in leading the program. Members of her team include Katherine Smith, developmental specialist; Missy Stewart, physical therapist; Hannah Rivers, occupational therapist, and Emily Woodason, speech therapist.

Valley Haven’s Early Intervention is part of the Alabama Early Intervention System (AEIS), a coordinated, family-focused system of resources, support and services for eligible infants and toddlers of up to three years of age who have developmental delays. AEIS is supported by federal, state and private funding sources. It’s a system of service delivery that is voluntary on behalf of the family. Even if a child is eligible for the service, the parent must consent to participate in it.

“Early Intervention is a free program to the parents,” Tidwell said. “When we are called in, our team will go to your home. We are very family friendly. We do what we can to educate the parent on what they can do to  help their child the best way they can. At the age of three, the children we have been helping are transitioned to the local school system. We assist in that transition.”

The term developmental delay means that a child is not growing as expected physically and.or mentally. This can include delays in walking, talking, speaking, learning or understanding. In Alabama, a child with a delay of 25 percent or more in one of the five developmental areas (physical, communication, adaptive, cognitive, social or emotional) is eligible for early intervention services. A child is also eligible based on a diagnosed physical or mental condition that is likely to lead to a developmental delay.

There is a six-step pathway to early intervention: (1) referral, (2) service coordination, (3) child and parents rights, (4) evaluation/assessment, (5) an individualized service plan and (6) transition.

The referral stage involves a system of identifying children up to three years of age who could be eligible for EI services. This can be done by contacting Child Find, the lead agency, at 1-800-543-3098. The family will then be contacted by an early intervention service coordinator.

Every family involved in early intervention has a service coordinator. This individual assists and enables a child with a disability and their family to receive services and the rights that are required by early intervention. These rights are clearly explained to the family.

The evaluation/assessment phase determines if the child meets Alabama’s eligibility criteria. The parents must give their written consent to participate. If they do, the child’s functioning abilities in the five basic areas of development – communication, social or emotional, physical (including vision and hearing), cognitive and adaptive – are reviewed. The process can take up to 45 calendar days of the initial referral. If the child is eligible, the parents are offered a voluntary family assessment.

An individualized service plan is then written. Parents are included on a team that writes this plan. The individualized service plan team determines the kind of services that are needed to meet the functional and developmentally appropriate outcomes.

Early intervention services include: assistive technology device and service, audiology, family training, counseling and home visits, health services, medical services, nursing services, nutrition, occupational therapy, physical therapy, psychological services, service coordination, sign language and coed language services, social work services, special instruction, speech language pathology services, transportation and related costs and vision services.

The transition phase involves the process of moving from services of Early Intervention to preschool. The individualized service plan will be revised to include a written transition plan. The process begins when the child is 27 months old and concludes on the child’s third birthday. Families work with the early intervention and preschool staffs to make the change in the child service delivery by the time the child is three.

Tidwell showed members of the club photos of the children the Valley Haven early intervention team had worked with. The photos made clear each child had made significant progress during their time in the program. Parents provided their consent for the photos to be taken.

Tidwell commended Auburn University for the assistance it had been providing with diagnostic services relating to autism.

“At age four the child goes into their local school system,” Tidwell said. “They don’t necessarily to to school at that age, but they are the responsibility of that school system.”

The east Alabama region, said Tidwell, is fortunate to have some really good Head Start centers. She said there were good ones at the East Bowen Center in Lanett, in Roanoke and in Opelika.

Alabama’s Early Intervention System embraces the view that it’s never to early for early intervention, especially for children up to three years of age who have been diagnosed with a physical or mental condition that could lead to a developmental delay.