What is Early Intervention?

If someone asked you to define "Early Intervention" off the cuff... what would you say?

• Stop something before it starts?
• Take someone's hand early in a process and guide them towards success?
• Interrupt an act before a potentially negative consequence ensues?

If you would have asked me to define "Early Intervention" a few years ago, I likely would have come up with one of the easy answers above.  If you were to ask me today, however I'm still not exactly sure how I would respond, but it would be be specific to my experience as Luke's mom and would go something like this...

"Early intervention is federally mandated by Part C of legislation entitled Individuals with Disabilities Education Act or IDEA, which was last amended in 2004 and is executed by the US Department of Education, Office of Special Education Programs.  This legislation passes the responsiblity to each of the 50 states and in Ohio, it's called out in our administrative code, where the Ohio Department of Education then passes the buck [literally] to each of our 88 counties.  Part C of IDEA is what mandates an Individualized Family Service Plan (IFSP) to those with disabilities between birth and the age of 3, when they transition to preschool and graduate to a full fledged Individualized Education Plan (IEP).  I've been studying IDEA and Ohio's Administrative Code pretty heavily lately in an attempt to understand what Luke is entitled to when it comes to developmental and educational services and I must say it's a pretty overwhelming task to try to understand and internalize legal mumbo-jumbo.  I'll continue reading and networking with other parents as I continue my quest to learn how to be the best mom I can be and will update with more on early intervention and how they're helping Luke to meet his full potential in the future!"

Ohio Administrative Code > 3701 Department of Health > Administration and Director > Chapter 3701-8 Help Me Grow Program - [Effective Until 01/15/2015] Early Intervention Individualized Family Service Plan and Service Delivery.

Ohio Administrative Code > 3701 Department of Health > Administration and Director > Chapter 3701-8 Help Me Grow Program - [Effective Until 01/15/2015] Definitions.