Idaho Parents Unlimited, Inc.

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When Your Child Is Diagnosed With A Disability

When a child is diagnosed with a disability, families encounter many changes in their lives. They must learn about their child’s disability and find appropriate services for their child. This can be an overwhelming and lonely time for families. They must come to understand new and technical words. If your child is diagnosed at an early age, one of the things that IPUL can provide to help you is our Infant/Toddler Packet which is full of good information. Please call IPUL and ask for one.

Finding services does not need to be difficult thanks to the passage of the Idaho Early Intervention Services Act,. Under this law, children, from birth through two years of age, found to have significant delays in their development (sometimes called developmental delays), are eligible to receive vital early intervention services. Children who have been diagnosed with a physical or mental condition that will probably cause delays in their development in the future are also entitled to early intervention services.

What Are Early Intervention Services?

Early intervention services are designed to meet the individual needs of infants and toddlers with developmental delays and family needs as related to the baby’s development. The goal is to enhance the child’s development and to reduce the child’s lag in development. Early intervention services are based on the needs of the individual child and family. Examples may be:

Whats The First Step For My Child To Rexieve Early Intervention Services?

Before your child can begin to receive early intervention services, he/she must be found eligible for services. Eligibility is determined in two ways:

  1. If your child has been diagnosed with a physical or mental condition that may result in delays in his/her development, evidence of that diagnosis establishes eligibility. Some examples of these conditions are cerebral palsy, down syndrome, spina bifida, autism, etc.
  2. If your think your child may have delays in his/her development you can request that your child’s development be evaluated. The evaluation process determines if your child’s development is slower than other children his/her age. A team of professionals will observe your child to determine if there are delays in his/her development in speaking, rolling over, crawling, walking, feeding, and understanding his/her environment, etc.

This evaluation is completed at no charge to you. Parental consent is necessary in order to have your child evaluated

In each region of the state, the Health and Welfare Adult Child Development Centers and Health Districts are coordinating their efforts to find children in need of services. You can arrange to have your child evaluated by calling either the health district in your area or the regional Health and Welfare Adult Child Development Center. For information on the nearest agency, call Idaho Parents Unlimited at (208) 342-5884 or toll-free at 1-800-242-IPUL (4785).

What Happens Once My Child Is Found In Need Of Services?

If your child is eligible for early intervention services, the next step is the development of an Individual Family Service Plan (IFSP). The IFSP is a written plan that outlines the child’s and family’s strengths and needs and the services that are necessary to benefit your child’s development. You, as your child’s parents, or persons acting in the role of parents, are members of the IFSP team and play an important role in making sure that your child’s needs are met. The first IFSP meeting must occur within 45 days of your request to have your child evaluated. The IFSP meeting must be conducted at a time and place convenient to families and in the family’s primary language.