Early Child Intervention Services

Early Child Intervention Services

Question 1: What federal laws have contributed to the increase in early intervention services since the 1960s?

Legislations for Early Intervention

The United States has been proactive in the development of laws that provide children with services in order to ensure that the youth of the nation is adequately taken care of. For this purpose, the federal government has passed several legislations that provide children with assistance during their early childhood. Since the 1960s, the government has been active in ensuring that the goal is met and all children are provided the required assistance without any discrimination. During the Bush era, the No Child Left Behind Act was presented in 2001 and is regarded as George W. Bush's most significant achievement. The objective of this Act was to bring in accountability for schools and teachers by reviewing how well are the students learning. This required schools to have standardized tests which measured progress in terms of reading, writing, science, math and other relevant academic material (Blasco, 2001).

The Child First Act is also a similar attempt in this regard. This was first implemented in schools in New York. The Act was founded on three principles; Empowerment, Leadership and Accountability. The objective was similar to that of the NCLB Act, which was to stabilize the city's school system and standardize testing measures in all of the city's 1600 schools. These efforts have largely been successful and have garnered favorable response all sections of the society. The progress of students is now assessed using these standardized methods.

Question 2:Which major areas are evaluated when a child is suspected of having a developmental delay?

Developmental Evaluation Areas

The evaluation of development is conducted in a number of areas. This requires a qualified and trained professional who has the ability to analyze results and construct a profile of the student's weaknesses and strengths. The areas of evaluation include the following (Feldman, 2004);

Physical Development

This area evaluates the child or the student's physical growth. The idea is to assess the ability of the child to perform a certain task in one fluent motion. Motors skills analyze the hand-eye coordination of a child that is required for normal physical development. The evaluation also takes into account whether the child's development is hampered or affected by any form of stress he or she may be under.

Cognitive Development

Cognitive development is referred to the intellectual and mental ...