Therapeutic services provided from birth to age three.

Early intervention programs provide children from birth to age three with therapeutic services designed to prevent disorders that may stem from genetic conditions or adverse circumstance and to ameliorate developmental delays at as early a point as possible. Down syndrome, cerebral palsy, cleft palate, and hearing and vision impairments are all conditions identifiable at birth or soon thereafter. Children with any of these conditions—or any combinations of them—are typical of the children referred to early intervention programs. Other children, who may not have such obvious conditions, may be referred because of significant delay in speech, language, motor, or cognitive development —often by the pediatrician or a community-based screening program.

Children begin early intervention with an assessment by members of a multidisciplinary team. Composition of the teams may vary, but often include an early childhood education specialist...