Early Intervention ServicesIdaho Infant Toddler Program provides early intervention services, including educational and therapeutic services, designed to increase the ability of families to nurture and meet specific needs of infants and toddlers with developmental delays. The goals of the services are to enhance the child's development and to reduce the child's delay in development.
Services include:
Early intervention is critical during the first three years of a child's life while the foundation for communication, motor, social, and self-care skills are developing. Providing services early may reduce or eliminate the need for other costly services later.
How Families Connect with Services
If you think your child has a developmental delay and you have questions, call the Idaho CareLineat 2-1-1 or 1-800-926-2588 (208-332-7205 TTD) or the Infant and Toddler Program's Child Find Coordinator at the local health district in your area for a screening.
An evaluation would determine if the child's development is slower than other children his or her age. The evaluation reviews the child's development in areas such as physical, including vision and hearing; learning; social/emotional; speech and language; and self-help skills (such as feeding, dressing and toileting).
This evaluation is provided at no cost to the family, and families must give permission. The evaluation helps to determine if the child needs early intervention services and to assess the best type of services for the child and family.
If a child needs early intervention services, the family sits down with professionals and develops a written plan. Services are provided at no cost to families.
For more information, contact the Infant Toddler Program at your local Health and Welfare office.
Special Needs
The benefits of obtaining the necessary services and resources for a child with special needs are numerous. In Idaho, there are many resources for parents of children with special needs, including:
Additional Resources