Early childhood intervention

Early childhood intervention provides support for infants and young children with disability or developmental delay.

Early intervention is tailored to your child's needs, to promote their:

• development
• well-being
• community participation

Early childhood intervention includes many services that can support your child from birth to school entry. They also provide education to parents, carers and families so that you can:

• meet your child's needs
• build your child's strengths
• help your child develop new skills
• support your child to engage with experiences and activities

Across Australia, funded early childhood intervention is provided through the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) (Opens in new tab) for eligible children.

Early childhood is an important time in your child's life that can impact their growth and development. It can impact their life, even when they are adults.

Benefits for my child

If your child has a disability or developmental delay, early intervention can help them get the best start in life. The earlier your child can access appropriate intervention, the better the outcome is likely to be.

High quality early childhood support services can give your child important opportunities to:

• learn and develop skills in particular areas
• make friends
• develop independence
• learn new routines

An early childhood intervention support program can also:

assess your child's progress at regular intervals

• create a supportive environment where your child feels comfortable
• support your child's inclusion and participation at preschool or other early education settings
• prepare your child for primary school
• create opportunities for your child to meet other children who don't have a disability

Benefits for my family

Early childhood is also a critical time for your whole family. This is when your family can best begin to learn:

• about your child's strengths and interests
• how to support and nurture your child
• how to meet their needs
• how to adapt to having a child with a disability or a developmental delay

Early childhood intervention support services can tailor therapy options to suit both your child's and family's needs.

If your child needs early intervention, the first step is to speak with an 'Early Childhood Intervention Partner'. They are often professionals with experience in disability support.

They can:

• talk with you about which support services are best for your child
• give you information about support services, including mainstream services like preschool
• refer you to support services in your community
• help you find an early childhood intervention provider or program
• help you apply for funded early intervention through the NDIS

You can find your nearest early childhood intervention partner through the NDIS (Opens in new tab).

If there are no early childhood intervention partners in your area, you can start by speaking to your child's:

• doctor
• child health nurse
• early childhood educator

You can also contact the NDIS directly. See the Resources and Support section at the end of this article for more information.

Is my child eligible for NDIS early intervention?

You may be able to receive funded early intervention if your child is eligible through the NDIS (Opens in new tab).

Your child's eligibility for a certain early intervention service will depend on:

• your child's age
• if they have a developmental delay that's likely to be permanent
• if early intervention will help them need less support as they grow
• if they can access support outside of the NDIS, such as through school or your local hospital

To receive funded early intervention, your child must also meet certain citizenship and residency requirements.

The first step to applying for NDIS early intervention is to fill out an Access Request Form (Opens in new tab). Your Early Childhood Intervention Partner can help you with this. If you are not eligible, they can still help you access supports and services.

You can also ask the NDIS to review their eligibility decision. (Opens in new tab)

Early childhood intervention services can include:

• special education
• therapy
• parent education
• planning and coordinating different services

You can access early childhood intervention services in many locations, including:

• hospitals
• community health services
• private clinics
• your child's preschool

Your early childhood intervention partner can help you find services that best suit your child.

Choosing an early childhood intervention service

Not every service will suit all children. Every child will respond to their early intervention therapy in a different way.

The most important thing is to focus on what best suits your child and your family, which will depend on:

• your child's age
• your child's developmental needs
• your child's health care needs
• where you live
• your religious and cultural needs

An early childhood intervention partner can help with this.

To learn more about early childhood intervention, you can visit Reimagine Australia (Opens in new tab).

To learn more about financial support for early childhood intervention, you can visit the NDIS website (Opens in new tab) or call on 1800 800 110.

Through the NDIS you can also:

• find your nearest early childhood intervention partner (Opens in new tab)
• check if your child is eligible (Opens in new tab) for NDIS early intervention

Reimagine Australia (Opens in new tab) is the leading national body for Early Childhood Intervention and provides best practice guidelines for services and families.