Doris Biggs , SLP

Early intervention services are an effective way to address the needs of infants and toddlers who have developmental delays or disabilities. The services are made available through a federal law known as the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). IDEA provides states and territories with specific requirements for providing early intervention services to infants and toddlers with special needs. In turn, each state and territory develops its own policies for carrying out IDEA and its requirements. Broadly speaking, early intervention services are special services for eligible infants and toddlers and their families. These services are designed to identify and meet children's needs in five developmental areas. These areas are: physical development, cognitive development, communication, social or emotional development, and adaptive development.

The term local education agency means a public board of education or other public authority legally constituted within a State to either provide administrative control or direction of, or perform a service function for public schools serving individuals ages 0 - 21 in a state, city, county, township, school district, or other political subdivision including a combination of school districts or counties recognized in a State as an administrative agency for its public schools. An LEA may provide, or employ professional who provide, services to children included in the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), such services may include, but are not limited to, such medical services as physical, occupational, and speech therapy.

The speech-language pathologist is the professional who engages in clinical services, prevention, advocacy, education, administration, and research in the areas of communication and swallowing across the life span from infancy through geriatrics. Speech-language pathologists address typical and atypical impairments and disorders related to communication and swallowing in the areas of speech sound production, resonance, voice, fluency, language (comprehension and expression), cognition, and feeding and swallowing.