The Importance of Early Intervention
Early Intervention is a phrase that’s used a lot in the child development world. It means providing support as soon as a potential need is identified. For some, any support offered in the Early Years (birth - five) would be classed as ‘Early Intervention’.
In order to access early intervention, typically early identification is required. This means the adults around a child being able to recognise the risk factors of Speech, Language and Communication Needs (SLCN) and take action promptly.
Early Identification is a cost-effective approach and there is a strong evidence base that the makes a positive difference for children (‘Bercow 10 Years On’ report).
Research is consistent in finding that early intervention is effective. When children are given support swiftly, they tend to make progress and - in many cases - have resolved SLCN rather than persisting needs.
The Early Intervention Foundation highlights that the right support during the first five years of a child’s life “can fundamentally change lives”. Studies of programmes such as Early Talk Boost have recorded positive outcomes of this early intervention.
In one study*, young children (aged between 8 and 21 months) were split into two groups, with group A receiving support while group B were monitored. When the children from both groups were re-assessed at aged 3 years, only 5% of those children in group A had a language delay, while 85% of those in group B were identified as having a language delay, suggesting that the Early Intervention received by group A had helped to reduce the chance of a child having persisting SLCN.
Capone Singleton (2018) has followed children who were initially identified as “late talkers” (a term used to describe a situation where a child has acquired less words than expected for their age, in the absence of an underlying medical cause). 70-80% of children identified as ‘late talkers’ go on to catch up with their peers, though those that received early intervention still had better long term outcomes than those who didn’t.
Parent’s of toddler’s identified as late talkers talk and interact to their children differently than parents of typically developing toddlers. While the amount of talk is often the same, parents of late talking toddlers are less likely to follow their child’s lead, respond to their toddler less and initiate conversation more (Hawa et al. 2014).
I do not for a minute mean to suggest that a toddler being a late talker is caused by their parent’s interaction with them. However, what this does highlight is the back and forth nature of interaction and communication - when your toddler or child does not respond in the way you might be anticipating (in this instance, they’re a late talker so using less words) this influences how you in turn interact with them. Early intervention that consists of training and education for parents and caregivers could help to reduce this impact and serve as a protective factor against late talking.
The i-can paper ‘The Cost to the Nation of Children’s Poor Communication’ (2006) highlights not only that early intervention has a positive impact on a child’s language and communication development, but that it is also cost effective. Investing in early intervention can often reduce the need for later interventions and support.
Providing early intervention does not sit well alongside a ‘wait and see’ approach. While for some children, waiting to see what will happen is absolutely the appropriate action to take, there is no single risk factor to help us know, for certain, which children will ‘catch up’ and which will not.
Any practitioner suggesting the wait and see approach needs to be very clear why they think intervention is not indicated at that point in time, and what they are waiting for. Ideally, parents and carers would have a clear idea of what behaviours they are expecting to see and when - so they know when to seek further help.
I would urge any parent to seek out support if you’re feeling unsure about their child’s communication development; from your Health Visitor, GP, local NHS SLT team or Speech and Language Therapy charities such as Speech and Language UK. You can also find local, independent Speech and Language Therapists via the ASLTIP website.
I can provide support either though face to face session, or through my online learning course - an Early Intervention course aimed at parents, caregivers and Early Years professionals to learn how to develop their child’s speech and communication skills. You can find my course at www.wecancommunikate.co.uk through the ‘online course’ tab.
References
An investigation into the effectiveness of an early intervention method for delayed language development in young children (Ward, S.) 2009.
I-CAN “Cost to the Nation of Children’s Poor Communication”
Bercow, 10 Years on Report: http://www.bercow10yearson.com/